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Which Church is Going Through? Part I

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The following statement appeared in the Review and Herald almost one-hundred years before my brother was dismissed from employment with the Kansas-Nebraska Conference; “A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs.” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, March 22, 1887.

In Christ’s day, the disciples (all of the church leaders) were out in a little boat. Think how dangerous it was for the Lord to allow all of the church leaders to get in a little boat and set out to sea. If they drowned, that would be it. Some of us would never have allowed that to happen. They got out there in the middle of the sea, and the devil tried to destroy them all by sending a big storm. Jesus came walking out on the sea. They thought it was a spirit, and they cried out in fear. Jesus said, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Matthew 14:27. You see, if Jesus is near, you do not need to be afraid, no matter what you are going through. If you are going through a storm in the sea, in your life, in your marriage, on your job, or wherever you are, if Jesus is close and you are looking to Him and trusting in Him, you do not need to be afraid. He knows how to work out every problem that you have.

Our Greatest Need

We need deliverance from fear; we need to know our Bible better, but of all the things we need, Sister White says that “a revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs.”

In life, some things are more urgent than others. This is true in our spiritual life as well. There are some things we have a great need for; they are very urgent and we need them right now! Our greatest need is a “revival of true godliness.” If this is our greatest need, and if it is our most urgent need, should we not try to figure out how it is going to happen? Yes, we should. In fact, it says in Mrs. White’s statement, “To seek this should be our first work.” Ibid.

My brother, Marshall, and I talked about this many times. If this is what we need the most, and if it should be our first work, what do we need to do so it can happen? That is what caused Marshall to be dismissed from employment with the Kansas–Nebraska Conference. He was trying to figure out how to make this revival happen in the church.

Who Needs It?

Notice a little two-letter word in the first sentence. “A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs.” There is a little word there in the center, spelled u s. It is not talking about the United States: it is talking about us. “A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs.” Who is the us? This statement was written in the Review and Herald in 1887. That is a church paper. To which group does it belong? The Seventh-day Adventist Church. This paper has been in publication since the 1850s, and Mrs. White’s statement was printed in that paper, an official organ of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. If it says “A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs.…To seek this should be our first work,” to whom does the term “us” refer? It refers to Seventh-day Adventists. So, the greatest need of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, (not just the home churches or the worldwide historic Adventist movement, but every person, anywhere in the world, who professes to be a Seventh-day Adventist, including the conference churches, all the institutions, the General Conference—everyone) is “a revival of true godliness.”

What is It?

The question, “What is godliness?” is something that you need to understand. Read 1 Peter 1:1–25 very carefully and you will understand what godliness (Godlikeness) is. More important, however, is the question How does this godliness come about? It does not do you any good to know what needs to happen, unless you understand how it is supposed to happen. How is this revival of true godliness supposed to happen in the Seventh-day Adventist Church?

One of the big questions that people are asking today is, “Will the Seventh-day Adventist denomination (or structure) go through to glory?” It is interesting to note that there are a number of different answers being given to that question. Within the last year or so, there have been an increasing number of people who have given a resounding “No, the Seventh-day Adventist Church structure is not going through to glory, because it is Babylon, and it is just waiting to be destroyed.” A lot of people are preaching that today.

There are other people who believe similarly, but they say “The structure is not Babylon yet, but it is on the verge of becoming Babylon. We are not sure that the actual decree that it is Babylon has been pronounced.”

The issue of some people believing the church is Babylon must be addressed,
because there are people all over the world who are saying that it is. We have an obligation to help other people find the meaning of the times in which we live and how to get ready for the future. That is why we hold Prophecy Seminars. That is why each one of us needs to be praying and asking ourselves, “To whom do I have a moral obligation to share what is going to happen?”

Newborn Babes

There is an interesting passage in Isaiah which says, “Whom will He (that is the Lord) teach knowledge? And whom will He make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?” Isaiah 28:9. That is, those who are spiritual babies? The Bible talks about spiritual babies as being people who have just accepted the Christian faith. Peter addressed people who had just accepted the Christian faith and he says, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby.” 1 Peter 2:2.

If you were in trouble in your financial life, business life, or marriage, would you go to a baby to ask advice? No. But people do this spiritually all the time. People who have been Christians for two or three years feel that they know enough about Christianity that they can teach others. The apostle Paul gave some of the strongest rebukes in Scripture about this very thing. In fact, he told Timothy, “You do not ordain a new convert as an elder or a deacon until they have had time to become rooted and grounded in the faith.” (See 1 Timothy 3:6, 10.) You do not go to a baby Christian to find answers to your problems. They are babies. We all love babies, and we want them to grow, but we do not go to a baby to get answers to a hard problem. The same is true spiritually.

Infanthood

After a baby is three years old, would he then be able to help you solve your problems? No, he is still a baby! Yet people will do this spiritually. A three- year-old Christian knows enough to teach people who are not born into Christ yet, and can witness to them. If they have only known Christ for a month, they can share what they have learned about Jesus. But friend, if you are trying to find out who, when, and what is Babylon, you do not go to a three-year-old Christian. “Those just weaned from milk? those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept.” Isaiah 28:9, 10. You must compare Scripture with Scripture.

Have you ever met someone who knows two or three verses of Scripture, and they try to prove Bible doctrine by these few verses? I was in an interdenominational jail ministry where a man from another church said, “We know this because it says,”…and he quoted one verse of Scripture. In the verse of Scripture he quoted, the comma was in the wrong place. If you put the comma in the wrong place, it makes the meaning totally opposite of what is really being said. This man thought he knew something on the basis of one verse of Scripture. When people have a belief, and they only have one or two verses of Scripture to prove it, that is a sign of infanthood. They are not off the milk yet. Scripture says; “Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” Isaiah 28:10. If you want to know what the truth is about any spiritual subject, you need to know what all the inspired writings say on that subject.

Let us look at another principle. “I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” 1 John 2:21. What does it mean that “no lie is of the truth?” “All truth, whether in nature or in revelation, is consistent with itself in all its manifestations.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 114.

You can look up all the texts about Babylon in the Bible, or all of the passages in the Spirit of Prophecy, and if you know the truth, you will be able to see that they all agree. If they do not all agree, there is something wrong with what you believe; you have not studied it thoroughly. The truth is always consistent with itself; “no lie is of the truth.” If two things are the truth, they will not contradict each other.

Is the structure Babylon?

There are people today who, when trying to answer the question as to whether the Seventh-day Adventist Church structure is going to go through to glory, respond that they think we are in the same position that Israel was in just before the crucifixion.

Jesus was entering Jerusalem, and He paused on the crest of the hill.… “When the fast westering sun should pass from sight in the heavens, Jerusalem’s day of grace would be ended.” The Desire of Ages, 578. It was not yet too late. Right at that time, they could have turned around; they could have accepted the Messiah. The door was still open for them to do it, but they would not. Some people believe that our church structure is in that situation now. It is just about over; it is just about too late, but there is still time to turn around.

Saved From Sin

I meet people who wonder whether they have committed the unpardonable sin. They look at their past and at their many sins, and ask, “What shall I do?” Let me tell you something; the worse sinner you are, the more you need Jesus. He came into this world to save sinners. If you are a sinner, you qualify for salvation. Paul said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15. Think this through for just a moment. When Jesus saves someone, He saves them from their sins. (See Matthew 1:20, 21.) Isn’t that the most wonderful news there is? No matter how many times you have sinned, Jesus has come here to this world to save you from that sin. Jesus does not save you so that you can keep on sinning, because you are not saved if you keep on sinning.

If your besetting sin is beating your wife, Jesus does not save you so you can go on beating your wife. He wants to save you from that, so that you do not do it anymore. You see, if this person is saved from beating his wife, he is not saved if he continues beating his wife. The person who has a problem with alcohol, is not saved from alcohol if he is still drinking. Jesus came to save you from your sins. That you can be saved while you are still living a life of sin is the gospel of the antichrist. That gospel has taken a hold over much of the Christian world today. There are actually people who are killing other people; yet, because they go and confess to their priest, they believe that they are saved. Friend, you are not saved while you are living in sin. No one will be taken to heaven while they are living in sin down here. Sin has to be in the past. The Bible tells us that Jesus justifies us, or forgives us, from sins that are past. (See Romans 3:25, 26.)

What is the day of grace all about? What is salvation all about? It is about having sins taken away. Jesus’ salvation from sin involves two things. First, Jesus delivers us from guilt. Secondly, He delivers us from the power of sin in our lives. Because of sinful habits, sin has power in our lives, and Jesus is going to deliver us from that power. That is what salvation is about; what revival is about; what primitive godliness is about; what our greatest and most urgent need is, and it should be our first work to seek for a revival of true godliness. Godliness is holy living, living according to God’s law, instead of transgressing it.

We have looked at two positions dealing with “us.” We know this refers to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and our greatest need is for true godliness. One position is that this does not apply to us anymore because the Seventh-day Adventist Church structure is now Babylon; it is going to be destroyed. The other position is that we are like the children of Israel just before the crucifixion of Jesus. They could have turned around, but their irrevocable sentence was about to be pronounced.

Going Through to Glory

However, the traditional, or the most common, belief among the majority of Seventh-day Adventists today, is not that the denomination will be cast aside as was the Jewish nation, but that the Seventh-day Adventist Church will go through to glory; and if it will go through to glory, you had better stay with it. Let me tell you friend, we had better find out what is true, and we better find out from the Bible.

A few years ago, not by my choice, the local Seventh-day Adventist conference church, of which I was a member, disfellowshipped me. So I am no longer part of that structure. After that happened, a friend wrote me a letter and indicated, point blank, that I was not part of the church anymore. If that is so, I need to do something about it right away, because I want to go to heaven. I do not want to have a false hope and think that I am going to heaven and have the Lord come and say, “John, you are not part of the bride of Christ. You are not part of the church of Christ, you will have to stay here.” We really need to understand the answer to this question. If we do not, if we have the wrong answer, it could involve our eternal destruction, because when Jesus comes back to this earth again, He is coming to take His bride home, and His bride is the church. (See Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, 277.) If you are alive when Jesus comes, and you are not part of His bride, you are lost. You need to know whether you are part of it or not, and if you are not part of it, you need to become part of it right away.

The people who believe that the Adventist Church structure will not be cast aside, as was the Jewish church, but will go through to glory, are not naive enough to believe that every member of the church will be part of that triumphant body. They generally explain it with the parable of the wheat and the tares. They say, “We know that there is a lot of apostasy and corruption in the church now, but before Jesus comes, He is going to remove it. That is encouraging, but how is that going to happen?

Some people say the church is just about to become Babylon, and some people say it already is. Some people say the structure is going through to glory, and the Lord is going to clear the apostates out while the true and faithful remain.

Who Do You Say the Church Is?

Has it crossed your mind, as we have looked over these different positions, that if you are going to find the truth, it might be of vital importance for you to know who and what the church is? You see, these different teachings are based on different definitions of who and what the church is, and the conclusion a person comes to is based on who and what he thinks the church actually is.

Let me ask you a few simple questions.

  1. Do you think that God knows who the church is? I am not asking this irreverently, but I want you to think it through. Do you believe that God knows who the church is?
  2. If God knows who the church is, do you suppose that any time He wanted to, He could tell one of His prophets who the church is?
  3. If a prophet came to you and told you who the church is, would you believe them?

That is a hard question. For almost forty years I have noticed that when prophets come and tell people who and what the church is, they do not believe it. There are sermons (not only spoken, but in print) where people have read some of the plainest definitions in the Spirit of Prophecy, (the writings of Ellen White) about who and what the church is. Then they explain it all away.

The question is, what does the prophet actually say, not what do I think it means. That is not what counts. Do we not tell people that in our Prophecy Seminars? Of course! We say, “Don’t believe anything I say unless you can find it in the Bible.” That is a valid position to take. Is it enough if a prophet says this is what it is? Somehow, with this subject, it is not. We have such a deep prejudice that most people will not accept it. They have another definition, and they say, “Well, there are balancing statements.” Red is red. “Oh no it is not; there are balancing statements.” It is another way of saying that there are other statements that contradict it.

1 John 2:21 says, “No lie is of the truth.” If it is all true, does it all have to agree? Yes, and there could never be a balancing statement that would contradict the truth. When the Lord says, “This is the way it is,” you do not say, “Oh no Lord, there has to be a balancing statement.”

God Said It—That Should be Enough

“God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority—not one, nor all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept we should demand a plain, ‘Thus saith the Lord’ in its support. The Great Controversy, 595.

Every time I read that statement, it sounds so reasonable to me. If I am a Christian, and I profess to be serving the Lord, and He has all knowledge, if that is whom I serve, and if He tells me something, that should be enough evidence. Right? It seems so reasonable.

In the inspired writings [either the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy], are there plain definition statements about who and what the church is? Yes, there are.

John Knox was talking to the Queen of Scots. She asked him how she was to know whom to believe? Should she believe him or should she believe the Catholics? John Knox said that the Bible meant one thing and the Catholics said the Bible meant something else, how was she to know whom to believe? John Knox told her to believe God, who speaks plainly. Go to plain evidence and take the plain statements. That is the Protestant position.

Line Upon Line

I cannot explain every verse in the Bible, and I have been studying it for years. So I will not take a verse of Scripture that I cannot explain and say, “This is the basis of my faith.” Look for the plain statements all the way through. ‘Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.’ I do not know why these statements are not accepted, but they are not. Here is a plain statement that defines who and what the church is. Just one sentence—”From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth.” Acts of the Apostles, 10. Does that sound to you like a plain definition of who and what the church is? In other words, the church is the people.

Some may say that they have many objections that I have not yet answered. I will. I have checked a hundred or so objections out, and every one can be answered from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy in plain English. But the biggest question is, can you simply believe what God says? Does God have authority in your life? Jesus is looking for the same thing today as He was looking for in the Garden of Eden. He just wanted to know one thing from Adam and Eve and it was this, “Can I trust you?” That was it. The word trust, the word faith, the word faithful, the word believe, in the Greek it is all the same word. So who are the faithful souls? They are the people that believe, who have made a commitment to the Lord. You may have all kinds of sin in your life, but Jesus came to save sinners, so you qualify.

Are You Really Part of the Church?

Have you made the commitment? Are you really part of the church, or are you just going to church? Jesus is looking for people on whom He can depend, and there is no question that He is going to find them. The question is, am I going to be one of them? When things happen that you cannot explain, and it seems like other people have let you down, maybe people in your family, maybe people in your church, can Jesus still depend on you? The angels are keeping a record to see who is trying to follow Jesus.

“Those who keep God’s commandments, those who live, not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, compose the church of the living God.” Manuscript Release, vol. 1, 296. God knows who His church is, and He tells us it is the faithful souls, the ones who do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of His mouth. These are the people who compose His church.

When Jesus comes, what is going to matter is not whether I have my name on a book down here, but whether He will recognize me as being part of His own. Jesus is coming to get a bride. He is coming to get a people that He knows belong to Him. Do you belong to him? You can know you belong to Him for He says, ‘You know it if you live by every word that proceeds out of My mouth.’

To be continued…

Which Church is Going Through? – Part II

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Four Theories

When you ask the question, “which church is going through?” here are the answers that you get:

  1. One of the most popular, or traditional, views among many Seventh-day Adventists is that the church organization (structure) is going to go through to glory purified. There may be tares among the wheat, there are sinners in Zion and they are going to be cast out; but the structure is going to go through.
  2. A second view that has come to the fore in the last year or two, is the idea that the church structure is Babylon, or it is just on the brink of becoming Babylon. Therefore, it is just waiting to be destroyed.
  3. A third position is that the church structure is in the same position as the Jewish church was just before the crucifixion of Christ. Ellen White says, “When the fast westering sun should pass from sight in the heavens, Jerusalem’s day of grace would be ended. While the procession was halting on the brow of Olivet, it was not yet too late for Jerusalem to repent.” Desire of Ages, 578. Some people say that is the condition of the church right now. The structure could turn around. Something irrevocable could happen, just like it did to the Jewish nation.

Before I mention the fourth position, consider that we Isaiah 28:9, 10 tells us that we should look through the entire Bible if we want to learn the truth about any subject. We need to look at everything that inspired writings say about that subject, and if we do that, the Lord will lead us to the truth. “All truth, whether in nature or in revelation, is consistent with itself in all its manifestations.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 114. “…no lie is of the truth.” 1 John 2:21. What does that mean? It means, the truth always has to agree with itself. If it does not, if it contradicts, there is something that is not true.

  1. People who take this position say you must answer the question what is the church before you can answer which church is going through. How can you tell which church is going through if you do not have an inspired definition about what the church is? God knows what the church is and if God knows what the church is, He could tell one of His prophets. If one of God’s prophets told you what the church is, would you believe it? Some people do not believe it. “From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth.” Acts of the Apostles, 11. That is the church militant; it could not possibly be the church triumphant because it says, “from the beginning,” and the church does not become triumphant until the end.

The Church is not Invisible

Someone might say it is the invisible church. Let us see if it is. The sentence we just read is right in the middle of a long discussion about the church. It says, “From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. In every age the Lord has had His watchmen, who have borne a faithful testimony to the generation in which they lived.” Ibid. Were the watchmen invisible? No. Was the testimony invisible? No. Was the generation invisible? No. There is nothing invisible in that sentence. “These sentinels gave the message of warning; and when they were called to lay off their armor, others took up the work.” Ibid. Is there anything invisible in that sentence? Nothing invisible there. In all of these statements there is someone you can see. “God brought these witnesses into covenant relation with Himself, uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. He has sent forth His angels to minister to His church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against His people.” Ibid.

Someone may say that we cannot tell who these people are. Look at the next paragraph. “Through centuries of persecution, conflict, and darkness, God has sustained His church.” This was hundreds of years of persecution. Can you tell who was being persecuted, or were they invisible? You could tell who was being persecuted. When somebody was burned at the stake, you could tell who it was. When you saw somebody taken off to the dungeon, you could tell who it was. Could you tell that there was a conflict going on where one person was on one side and one was on the other? Yes! This was something you could see. In fact, as you go through this chapter, there just isn’t anything anywhere about an invisible church. This is about people whom you can see, messengers bearing messages that you can hear. Even the wicked people can tell who is being persecuted. So it is not talking about the church triumphant, it is not talking about the invisible church; but it still says that the church is composed of faithful souls.

Every Word that Proceeds from God

Ellen White says that everyone who is faithful will be saved. That is good news. “Those who keep God’s commandments, those who live, not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, compose the church of the living God.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 949.

If you understand those inspired definitions and you understand who the church is, then when someone comes to you and says you must not leave the church, you must stay with the church, what does that mean? I believe in staying with the church. It means to stay with those faithful souls. It means to stay with the people who are living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God and who are keeping the commandments of God. That is what it means. Somebody might say, “You are getting mixed up. Matthew 13 says that there are tares in the church, and the wheat and the tares are all mixed up together. You cannot go and find a church where there is only wheat. The wheat and the tares have to be all together.” That is what people say.

Sinners in Zion

People also say that Ellen White said there are sinners in Zion. (By the way, that does not come from Ellen White, it comes from the Bible, but Ellen White does use it.) She says that right at the end these sinners are going to be sifted out, separated from the church. So, they say, the church is full of sinners. Let us take a look at that for a moment. First of all, let us find out who these sinners in Zion are. I like to make things simple, so here they are: “There are many sinners in Zion, and they are likened to tares among the wheat.” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, October 10, 1893. So these sinners in Zion are the tares. If we can figure out what Jesus was trying to teach us about the tares, we will understand about the sinners in Zion.

I just want to find out the truth. If the truth requires me to do something completely different than I am doing, then I want to do it. I have perfect confidence that if I find the truth, the truth will always agree with itself, and I will be on solid ground.

The Wheat and the Tares

First of all, let us look at a few points about the wheat and the tares. This is one of the few parables that Jesus gave where His explanation to His disciples is recorded afterward, and He said, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Matthew 13:36-43.

In verse 30 and 40 it says “at the end of the age.” The word “at” makes people think that a point in time is being referenced, which is not the case at all. In the Greek it says “in.” In other words, during the end of the age. The harvest time is during the closing period of earth’s history, and that is when the angels are going to gather out the tares.

In Christ’s Object Lessons, 70, Ellen White talks about the parable of the tares, which brings up several questions: First of all, we want to know who and what a tare is, because a tare is not to be uprooted. Now the way some people interpret that, you would think you could never put any wicked person out of the church. But that is not what Jesus was trying to teach. Let us see what Jesus was talking about.

“…it is in the church that we are to grow and ripen for the garner of God.” The wheat grows and ripens for the garner of God. Where? In the church. So is it important to know what the church is? If you are wrong about where you think the church is, could it result in you not having salvation? Is that possible? It most certainly is!

Where are the Tares?

Let us look at several facts about the tares. Who plants the tares? The devil. Where does he plant them? In the church. Let us notice how they are described. She calls them ‘those who bear Christ’s name while they deny His character.’ They bear His name; they are professed members of the church, but they deny His character. Are they connected to the church? In a way they are, and in a way they are not. But here are some descriptions of the tares. “Christ’s servants are grieved as they see true and false believers mingled in the church.” Ibid., 71. So a tare is a false believer. “The tares represent a class who are the fruit, or embodiment of error, of false principles.” They have false principles; they are false believers, but notice how she describes them on page 72. “The real character of these pretended believers is not fully manifested.” What does she call them? Pretended believers!

Notice three different descriptions of the tares. They are planted by the devil, and they are the embodiment of false principles. They are false believers, but they pretended to be believers. On the outside they look the same. And then on page 73 she gives another description and she mentions it twice. She calls them false brethren. So, a tare is a false believer, a pretended believer, and a false brother. Let us just think that through for a minute. Is a tare a true brother? No. Is it possible to be in a family, have the family name, but not be part of the family? Yes! But these false brethren are pretended brethren, and pretended believers. Now, let us take it one point further. A tare is a person who, on the outside, looks like a true believer until the time of the harvest. But when it becomes manifest that they are living in open sin, they are to be disfellowshipped, and people want to forget that. People want to think that if someone is a tare, you just have to let them be and the Lord will separate them at the Second Coming. Actually, the separation takes place before the Second Coming. Mrs. White had just been talking about the tares, stating that they are both growing together with the wheat until the harvest, then she says, “Christ has plainly taught that those who persist in open sin must be separated from the church.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 71.

Now let us just think this through so we know exactly what we are talking about. She says, “…He has not committed to us the work of judging character and motive.” Ibid.

An Open Sinner is Not a Tare

Open sin is a sin that involves an action that others can see. Let us be very plain in our speech. Adultery is an open sin if it is committed in the flesh. But if it is only committed in the mind, we do not know about it, and we cannot judge a person by what happens in the mind. That person is a tare, and God is going to judge them, but we cannot. At the time of the harvest, during the time of the end, the Lord is going to separate the people who have sin on the inside, that is not visible on the outside.

If a person covets something that belongs to somebody else, you cannot judge their character and motives. But if they actually rob or steal, that is an open sin. Christ has plainly taught that those who persist in open sin must be separated from the church. We find that in Matthew 18.
Paul also taught the same thing in 1 Corinthians 5. The apostle John taught it as well in 2 John.

When did the devil plant the tares? We know he planted them in the church, but when did he plant them? What time of day? While men slept. Have you read any warnings in the Spirit of Prophecy given to Seventh-day Adventists who are asleep? She tells us that we need to wake up! The more the church sleeps, the more tares the devil is going to plant. What would you do if you were in a church and the devil planted so many tares that the tares controlled the church? If there is somebody living in open sin, they should be disfellowshipped from the church. People who are living in adultery, incest, robbery, open liars, people who are openly breaking one of the Ten Commandments, are to be disfellowshipped.

When the Tares are in Control

But suppose they cannot be disfellow-shipped because the tares are in control of the church. The devil has planted so many, and people have slept so long, that the tares are in control. Suppose someone in your church has robbed a bank. You come to the church business meeting and some people are saying, ‘This man is disgracing the name of the church, and we must disfellowship him.’ However, another group of people are thinking, ‘If we disfellowship him, what is going to happen to me? I have done some pretty bad things myself,’ so there is no one willing to disfellowship somebody who is living in open sin because the tares are in control of the church.

What would you do then? Leave that church? Did you know that this has happened before? In fact, when Jesus was here the tares had control of the Jewish church. As you read the gospels, you can plainly see that. Why did they crucify the Lord? Because the tares were in control of the church.

Jesus gave very specific advice on what to do if the tares control the church.

“When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, ‘Hear and understand: not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.’ Then His disciples came and said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?’” Matthew 15:10. The Pharisees were in control of the church in that day. There is no question about it, they were in the driver’s seat. Notice what Jesus said. “But He answered and said, ‘Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.’” Ibid., 13.

Who plants the wheat? The Son of man. But these are plants that God did not plant. So who planted them? The devil. They are tares. But these tares are in control of the church. You cannot get them out. Jesus said they are coming out. There will be judgments coming and these tares are going to come out, but you cannot get them out. So what should you do? Jesus tells us what to do. “Let them alone.” Some may say, “Oh no, Lord, that could not be possible. This is the true church, do you not understand that?” Well, is God God, or not? If tares are in control of the church, should you try to destroy and uproot them? Jesus said, “’Let them alone, they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into the ditch.’” Ibid., 14.

Are you Being Led by Tares?

Now let us think that through. Not only did Jesus say to let them alone, but He warns you not to let those people lead you, or you are going to go into the ditch. “Oh, but Lord, these Pharisees, they are the leaders of the church, and I need to go to the synagogue and listen to them preach.” Well, if you do, Jesus says you are going to go into the ditch. People need to study Matthew 15:14. It always says the same thing.

Let us look at the harvest. During the time of harvest something is going to happen. “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest [that is during the time of the harvest] I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into My barn.’” Matthew 13:30. Notice, there is a two-fold harvest. At the harvest time Jesus said the first thing that gets harvested are the tares, the wheat harvest comes later. The tares will be bound in bundles, the wheat is not bound in bundles; but is harvested one at a time. If you are going to be in God’s granary, in His garner, you are not saved as a family, you must be saved as an individual. Who does it? Look at verses 40 and 41. “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness.” So the first thing that happens is that the angels do a work of separation. This is one of the most fearful things that any Christian can think about.

“The looker-on may discern no difference, but there is One who said that the tares were not to be plucked up by human hands lest the wheat be rooted up also. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then the Lord sends forth His reapers to gather the tares and binds them in bundles to burn, while the wheat is gathered into the heavenly garner. The time of the judgment is a most solemn period. When the Lord gathers His own from among the tares, those who have been members of the same family are separated.” Testimonies to Ministers, 234.

Eternal Separation

When we say that those who have been members of the same family are separated, we are talking about an eternal separation. This is not a pleasant thing to think about, but it is reality. We are all going to have to face it sometime. In the time of the harvest, there is a separation of the tares from the wheat.

What is this separation? First, the tares are bound in bundles; and this binding of the tares in bundles is happening, and has been happening, for a long time. For example: Ellen White wrote a long time ago that the labor unions were one of the agencies by which people were being bound in bundles as the tares. (See Pamphlet to Sanitarium Workers in Southern California, 1905.) A lot of people do not know that. She also wrote that fearful is the work of the Third Angel. (See Early Writings, 118.) This is the Third Angel recorded in Revelation 14:9-12. His work is to separate the wheat and the tares. Whenever someone preaches the Third Angel’s Message, separations take place. Have you ever seen that happen in families? One person accepts the Third Angel’s Message, other people do not. What happens? There is a separation. The Third Angel separates the wheat and the tares. A mark is placed upon the righteous. “They shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.” Malachi 3:17. Those who have been obedient to God’s commandments, will unite with the company of the saints in light; they shall enter in through the gates into the city, and have right to the tree of life. The one shall be taken. His name shall stand in the Book of Life, while those with whom he associated shall have the mark of eternal from God.” Testimonies to Ministers, 234, 235.

Notice, this separation involves a mark. The righteous will have a mark and the wicked will have a mark. There will be a mark of deliverance and there will be a mark of destruction.

The harvest occurs during the end of the age. And of course, this harvest involves the purification of the church, because once you have all the tares out, you have a pure church. There are many statements in inspired writings about how the purification of the church takes place. What we want to understand is how the church is purified. How does it happen? It is very important to understand, because there are many people who say the organized church (the structure) is going to go through; it is going to go through purified. The next question is how is it going to be purified? You need to find out how it is going to be purified, and how the Lord is going to take it to glory. Is God going to take a church to glory that has sin in it? No. The church has to be purified before it can go to glory.

Purification of the Church

Next month we will look at how the tares are going to be separated from the wheat; how the sinners in Zion are going to be sifted out; how the purification of the church is going to take place. We will find that inspired writings are very, very specific about how this will take place.

1 John 2:19 has to do with this purification of the church. You see, the purification of the church has happened in other ages, too, not just at the end. It says, “They went out from us.” Now let us think that through a little bit. Who is “us”? The church. What church? Who is the church according to Acts of the Apostles, page 11? Faithful souls. It is those who keep the commandments of God and live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Is that the definition of “us” that John is using here? Oh, surely it is. Look back at the beginning of 1 John 2:3–5. He says that the way you can tell if you really know Him is if you keep His commandments. And the one who says that he knows Him and does not keep His commandments is a liar. He talks about the little children, the fathers and the young men, and these are the people who have overcome the wicked one. These are people who are overcoming, who love their brother as themselves, who are keeping the commandments. That is the “us”! It is very clear who “us” is. Who are “they”? “They” went out from us. Are they the wheat or the tares? They are the tares, they left. But notice how it says this. “They went out from us, but they were not of us.” (Verse 19.) They had the name. They were professed church members. They were apparently part of the church. They went out from “us”, but they were not really of “us”, even though they had the profession and they looked like they were part of “us.” They were not of “us”, he said, because they left. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.” If they had really been the wheat, they would have stayed. “But they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” Ibid. Very, very interesting text. You have to understand who and what the church is to understand that text. All the apostles understood this. The apostle John understood who the church was. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.” Formerly they had the name. They came to church. It looked like they were part of “us” but they really were not, they were the tares, they were these pretended believers—these false brethren. Finally things developed so that they left.

Paul says the same thing, “But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel.” Romans the 9:6-8. Everybody who has a connection with the church is not really of the church. Only the faithful are really part of it. There are a lot of other people clinging to the skirts of Zion who are going to get shaken off. “Nor are they all children because they are of the seed of Abraham; but, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’ That is, those who are the children of the flesh.” Those are the people who say, “I am a descendent of Abraham, I am part of the church.” But making a profession does not make you part of the church. “These are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.”

Are You Planted in His Vineyard?

Ellen White says the same thing over and over again in Christ’s Object Lessons, 216. “Shall the words of doom erelong be spoken of you? How long have you received His gifts? How long has He watched and waited for a return of love? Planted in His vineyard [the church], under the watchful care of the gardener, what privileges are yours! How often has the tender gospel message thrilled your heart! You have taken the name of Christ, you are outwardly a member of the church which is His body, and yet you are conscious of no living connection with the great heart of love.”

Outwardly you are a member; inwardly you are not. Outwardly you are part of the church; inwardly you are not. Just like the parable of the vine and the branches in John 15, some had an outward connection, and some had an inner connection. Those who had only the outward connection were cut off and burned up. Those who had the inward connection bore fruit.

Profession Is Not Everything

“God called them (the Jews) to be co-workers with Him in blessing the world; but while in profession they accepted the call, in action they refused obedience.” Ibid., 279. In profession they claimed to be sons of God. They professed to be part of the church, but in life and character they denied that relationship. Their profession is one thing; their life and character is something else. “In taking upon themselves the solemn covenant of the church they have pledged themselves to receive and obey the word of God, to give themselves to God’s service, but they do not do this.” Ibid.

They profess something, but they do not live it out; it is not real. They have an outward connection, but the inner connection, by which the life of Christ flows into their life, is not there.

“The professed followers of Christ are on trial before the heavenly universe; but the coldness of their zeal and the feebleness of their efforts in God’s service, mark them as unfaithful. If what they are doing were the best they could do, condemnation would not rest upon them; but were their hearts enlisted in the work, they could do much more. They know, and the world knows, that they have, to a great degree, lost the spirit of self-denial and cross bearing. Many there are against whose names will be found written in the books of heaven. Not producers, but consumers. By many who bear Christ’s name, His glory is obscured, His beauty veiled, His honor withheld. There are many whose names are on the church books, but who are not under Christ’s rule . They are not heeding His instruction or doing His work. There they are under the control of the enemy.” Ibid 303, 304

They have the name, but whose control are they under? Satan’s! There may be those who say we should not worry about all of this because the Lord is going to straighten it all out. The Lord is going to straighten it all out! Next month we will see just how He is going to do it.

The church is going to be purified, but, as we look at this subject, about which church is going to go through, remember we are asking one question. The question is, how? Your understanding has to agree with all of the inspired statements. If it does not agree with all of the inspired statements, there is something wrong.

An Inner Connection to Christ

There is a church that is going through, and that church is going to be composed of people who are overcomers. They do not just take the name, but they actually have an inner connection to Christ through the Holy Spirit, and the divine power is coming into their lives to give them power to overcome.

If you cannot understand everything yet, can you understand that if you are going to remain with the church until it becomes triumphant, you have to be an overcomer? You cannot just be a professor of religion, and play church. There are a lot of people playing church today. Do you know what it means to play church? You go to church. Maybe you are a deacon; maybe you teach the Sabbath School lesson or the Sunday School lesson; maybe you are even a preacher, or an evangelist, or an administrator. Maybe you have a high position in the church. You can do all of those things and just be playing church. The Pharisees did all those things, and people thought that they were righteous because on the outside it looked like they were. Judas did it. He was a tare. Annanias and Saphira did it, and they are described as tares. Demas did it, and he was described as a tare. Simon Magus was baptized; yet he was a tare. In every single one of these instances, when the tares developed to the point where they were in open sin, they were removed from the church. Do not ever forget that. The important thing for you, as an individual, even if you cannot understand all of the theology and all of the questions that people may ask you, is to understand this: the only people who are going to go through to the end are the people who overcome their sins. Are you going to be one of them?

Some years ago one of our best-known preachers made the statement that in these final battles we might lose some whole divisions. We might lose more than whole divisions. We might lose the whole General Conference. But the church will still go through. The question is, are you going to be an overcomer and go through with it? The Lord has power to help you if you are willing to surrender all to Him, follow Him, and be faithful to Him.

Those Who Follow the Lamb

In vision John saw a group of people who will ‘follow the Lamb whethersoever He goeth.’ They are going to be taken out of this world alive and taken to heaven. Would it not be wonderful if some of you could be part of that group? It could happen if you are willing to be faithful—not just to be a professed believer, Paul said to the Corinthians, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.” 2 Corinthians 13:5. Jesus Christ is in you unless you are unapproved. Is Jesus Christ in you? Can you say like Paul, “For me to live is Christ?” That is what will make you a grain of wheat. The Lord has promised in this last great contest that not one grain of wheat will fall to the ground.

Whatever my responsibilities are in this world, I have a pastor’s heart inside. I have a shepherd’s heart inside. I want to see every person reading this article saved. I would like to see the whole world saved, but I cannot bring it about. Would it not be wonderful if there were a few churches around, where the whole church was saved? If everybody is going to be saved in your church, you have to be saved. Every single one of you can be saved if you are willing to surrender all to Jesus. Say, “Lord I am in this thing for real, for serious. Please come into my heart so You and Your love may be living inside of me. I want my religion to not just be a profession, but something that I look like, something real.” Do you want to have that experience? Do you want to be connected to the Lord Jesus so that He is in you? If that is your desire, make a commitment to Him and say, “Lord, I want you inside to transform my heart and my life, to make me a grain of wheat.”

The Seed of the Woman

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Perhaps the most powerful gospel sermon that was ever preached was preached by the Lord Himself and is recorded in Genesis 3. This sermon is of great importance for us in the times in which we are living, because it addresses the issues that we are facing today.

Parameters of the Bible

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:1–5.

Though we will see more dimensions as we progress, in these few verses the parameters are set for the rest of the Bible.

“Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”

Did you notice what happened? The devil used what is known as a covert negative. A covert negative is the insinuation of a doubt while seeking to appear otherwise.

“And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden.”

Eve did something that we have been warned never to do—she parleyed with the enemy. Ellen White tells us that the devil, through the serpent, hypnotized her. (See Review and Herald, February 24, 1874; Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, 10.) He used conversational hypnosis, otherwise known as NLP [neuro-linguistic programming].

God has given to us a commission to proclaim the everlasting gospel, not to parley with the enemy. The enemy, however, seeks to engage us in negotiation, and, like the woman, we parley with him, allowing him to gain control over our minds.

“But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.” Now the devil directly challenges the word of God.

He continues, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” In other words, you, rather than God, will determine what is good and evil. This is the philosophy presented by Friedrich Nietzsche in his book, Beyond Good and Evil. (Vintage Books, New York, 1989.) He presents the concept that it is possible for a person to develop a personal lifestyle established upon his own norms of good and evil and without regard to the definition of good and evil laid down by the Lord. This is the original lie that the serpent told Eve. Even though today the majority of people in the world no longer question this idea, it is spiritualism, which, like a dark fog, is settling over all society. There is scarcely an aspect of human life, whether it be government, religion, law, or culture, that is not affected.

“And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they [were] naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” Genesis 3:6, 7.

Having accepted Satan’s assertions as truth, Adam and Eve were now allied to him—one in nature.

“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.” Verse 8.

They had never responded this way before. This was their first experience in hiding from God.

“The Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou?” Verse 9.

This same question has come ringing down through time. Where art thou modern man? Where are you in your thinking? Where are you in relationship to My Word? Where are you in relationship to My presence? Where art thou?

“And he [Adam] said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself.” Verse 10.

Man hides himself from God because of the sense of his nakedness and his fear of appearing in the presence of His Creator unclothed by the garment of Christ’s righteousness. It is to meet this great need that the Three Angels’ Messages focus on the proclamation of the righteousness of Christ, which is to be received by faith.

“And he [God] said, Who told thee that thou [wast] naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, wherof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” Verse 11. Have you partaken of spiritualism? Have you fallen into the trap of the devil?

“And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” Verse 12.

The spirit of accusation, which leads to the fracturing of human relationships—something never before known—now brought division between Adam and his wife. Today, under the impact of spiritualism, human relationships are being broken apart, unraveling the very fabric of society. Ellen White tells us that this process will continue to grow worse until we will see a situation in this world which will exceed that which brought about the reign of terror in France. (See Education, 228.)

“The Lord God said unto the woman, What [is] this [that] thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; and upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” Verses 13, 14.

Now comes the first gospel sermon ever preached. Notice that, in addressing Adam and Eve, God directs His words to the serpent. “And I will put enmity [hatred or hostility] between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Verse 15.

In these few words, the Lord laid down the great parameters for the struggle that would take place in the working out of the great controversy—the unending warfare that would exist between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent until the close of time.

Good and Evil

Ellen White, commenting on this, says, “His [the devil’s] seed will war against the righteous, and the wicked will endeavor to exterminate the good from the face of the earth. . . . Whenever a soul takes a decided stand for truth, the head of the serpent is bruised by the seed of the woman, and the serpent can bruise but the heel of the seed.” The Youth’s Instructor, October 11, 1894.

“The enmity referred to in the prophecy in Eden was not to be confined merely to Satan and the Prince of life. It was to be universal. . . . The seed of Satan is wicked men, who resist the Spirit of God, and who call the law, as did their father the devil, a yoke of bondage.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, 117. “He that committeth sin is of the devil.” 1 John 3:8.

Here the distinction is clearly made. The seed of the woman are those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony and faith of Jesus. The seed of the wicked one, the devil, are those who call the law a yoke of bondage and who commit sin. This is the cleavage point. It is also the cleavage point between Israel and Babylon, as we will shortly see.

“The enmity that exists in the heart against evil has no natural existence [now, this is a very important point], but is an enmity that has been created through the agency of the Holy Spirit. . . . He [Satan] originates traditions, and through his maxims he succeeds in assimilating to his own nature the nature of those who do not yield allegiance to the law of God.” The Signs of the Times, June 11, 1894.

We do not have a natural hatred against evil, but the Holy Spirit has put this hatred against evil in our hearts.

Notice how Satan works by introducing traditions and maxims to conform all, who do not yield allegiance to the law of God, to his own nature.

“It is God alone that can continually put enmity between the seed of the woman and the serpent’s seed. After the transgression of man his nature became evil. Then was peace between Satan and fallen man. Had there been no interference on the part of God, men would have formed an alliance against heaven. . . . There is no native enmity between fallen angels and fallen men. . . . Fallen angels and fallen men join in companionship.” The Gospel Herald, July 1, 1898.

In the outworking of these principles, we see a separation but also unity. On the one hand, we see the seed of the woman in harmony with God, with His Law, and with the unfallen beings throughout the universe. In contrast, there develops a harmony between fallen man and fallen angels. Jesus wants us to recognize these distinctions, which is why, when the Jewish leaders confronted Him seeking to engage Him in a debate, He said, “Ye are of [your] father the devil.” John 8:44. They were the seed of the serpent, and Jesus clearly identified them as such.

Concept of Christian Love

How different from this clear demarcation between right and wrong is the present concept of Christian love. This idea has captured the thinking of American society, completely divesting love of the control placed upon it by an awareness of the holiness of God.

The modern approach to love is really the result of merging Buddhism with Christianity. The Buddhist view of love is primarily oriented to human beings and the elimination of hatred. It seeks to teach beautiful concepts of love while denying the fall and the need of a Saviour from sin. While it sounds like a beautiful concept, and is one with which most people would heartily agree, it is spiritualistic in nature and does not reckon with the reality of Scripture. Today, these concepts have infiltrated all our psychology, entirely altering the culture of the Western World. But what did God say to Adam and Eve? I will put hatred between thy seed and her seed.

The true Christian view of love recognizes that God’s love does not naturally exist in the human heart. Jesus, the Saviour, is needed. In the pure, holy love that He gives in the gift of His holiness, righteousness is supreme and results in supreme love to God and impartial love to man. Christian love, centered in Christ and regulated by the Law of God, is in complete harmony with the Scriptures.

Genuine love is ever antagonistic to the spirit of Satan, for there is an unreconcilable conflict between Satan and Christ. Jesus said, “Ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name’s sake.” “I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:22, 34.

If all of humanity were to accept Christ and come into harmony with the principles of heaven, the most wonderful love would exist. It would be a heaven on earth, but true everlasting peace can only be achieved through surrender to Christ and His principles.

The Buddhistic concept of love is a tolerance of everything but the truth as it is in Jesus. It is, therefore, especially opposed to the proclamation of any message which warns against false religion, such as the exposure of the man of sin. It is one of the foremost antagonists of the love of Christ as manifested in the gift of His righteousness. It gives evidence of its hostility to the Lord and His truth by striving to turn the soul’s loyalty from Christ while seeking to destroy the operation of the Holy Spirit in the soul, which works in the heart of man, inspiring hostility against Satan and his seed.

God is a being of holiness, and God’s holiness involves hostility against sin. He commits Himself to act in the defense of the presence of holiness in humanity, which is why again and again, as at the Red Sea when with a strong arm He delivered Israel, God has acted in behalf of His people. In doing so, He is praised as a holy God, because He has acted in complete harmony with the purity of His righteous character. It is this holiness of which we are to be partakers.

“For they [earthly fathers] verily for a few days chastened [us] after their own pleasure; but he for [our] profit, that [we] might be partakers of his holiness.” “Follow peace with all [men], and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:10, 14.

This helps us to understand some of the passages in the Psalms that are so perplexing to our society. “The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.” Psalm 5:5.

Is God not a God of love? How, then, can the Scriptures say, “Thou hatest all workers of iniquity”?

God is a God of love, but His holiness involves a righteous hostility against sin and against the seed of the serpent.

Dissemblers

True peace and true love is found only in the new birth and in surrender to Christ. “I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.” Psalm 26:4, 5.

Who are dissemblers? They are the people who profess what they really do not have in their heart. These people are going into the congregation of the Lord professing one thing, while their hearts are quite out of harmony with their profession. By their actions, they are seeking to deceive.

Notice, also, the concept of separation from the wicked, which is foundational to the holiness of God. We are to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, and holiness involves complete separation from all evil.

There is a very interesting development brought to view in the parable of the wheat and the tares, as given in Matthew 13. “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.” Verses 24, 25.

The Spirit of Prophecy tells us that the “tares represent a class who are the fruit or embodiment of error, of false principles.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 70, 71. The enemy that sowed them is the devil. Neither God nor His angels ever sowed a seed that would produce a tare. The tares are always sown by Satan, the enemy of God and man. The sowing of tares in the professed church of Christ is an act of revenge Satan commits against Christ. Jesus pointed it out in this parable so that the true church members could be warned that Satan would sow his tares—infiltrators and destroyers—among the pure wheat seed of Christ.

Surely, this is true of our time, for while we were asleep, a crop of tares has sprung up in the structure. I was at the seminary when there was a great flowering of tares that seemed to suddenly appear. All of them were in harmony in their belief that the Law of God could not be kept.

“The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.” Verses 28, 29.

The Lord has such a regard for our protection that He does not want even one soul to be lost. Because the fabric of life might be involved and some of the wheat might be destroyed in the process of removing the tares, He says, “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” Verse 30.

Here is demonstrated the separation and unity that comes at the time of the harvest, just before the close of probation.

Later, the disciples came to Jesus seeking for a clearer understanding of the tares. This concept of the tares troubled them. In explaining the parable to them, Jesus clearly delineated along the same parameters that He had in Genesis 3:15.

“Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one]. The enemy that sowed them is the devil.” The devil, at work in the professed church, sowed the tares. “The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Verses 36–43.

True Church Defined

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17. Here is anger, hostility, and warfare.

Once again, at the end of time, we see manifest the hatred that is to exist between the seed of the woman and that of the serpent. The remnant of the seed of the woman is the last in the long line of those who keep the Commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. The seed of the serpent, which are the tares, have hostility against the truth of obedience to God’s Law. The devil, working through them, attacks the wheat, seeking to destroy the seed of the woman.

This raises a question. What happens when you have a situation where there gets to be so many tares that they are choking out the good seed?

Jesus was faced with this same problem in His day. When He came we are told that when Jesus came preaching, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel,” He first labored in Judea. Mark 1:15. “If the leaders in Israel had received Christ, He would have honored them as His messengers to carry the gospel to the world. . . . But Israel knew not the time of her visitation.” The Desire of Ages, 231, 232. As the jealousy and distrust of the Jewish leaders ripened into open hatred, the Sanhedrin rejected Christ’s message, and the leaders sought to turn the hearts of the people away from Him. Jesus was dealing with tares that were bent on His death. Therefore, Jesus departed from Jerusalem, leaving behind the temple, the religious leaders, and the people who had been instructed in the law. Instead, He turned to another class, in another field, to proclaim His message and to gather out those who should carry the gospel to all nations.

“As the light and life of men was rejected by the ecclesiastical authorities in the days of Christ, so it has been rejected in every succeeding generation. Again and again the history of Christ’s withdrawal from Judea has been repeated.” Ibid., 232.

But I ask you, Where was the good seed? The tares were not the good seed; they were never the true church. The Spirit of Prophecy tells us that Caiaphas had not one ray of light from God. (See Review and Herald, June 12, 1900.) The followers of Christ had no thought of separating themselves from the established church, but the religious leaders would not tolerate the light. Those who bore it were forced to seek another class who were longing for the truth. There were so many tares that they could no longer function in the professed church.

Today, few are listening for the voice of God, ready to accept truth in whatever guise it may be presented. Too often, those who follow in the steps of the Reformers are forced to turn away from the churches they love in order to declare the plain teaching of God’s Word. They are, however, the wheat, the seed of the woman. They are the church. The tares are not the church of God; they are the servants of the devil. They are the seed of the wicked one who war against the seed of the woman.

And so, this great message that the Lord preached in the Garden of Eden comes ringing down to our day, clearly defining whom the true church really is. It is the remnant of the seed of the woman, those who keep the Commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

We must never ever forget this principle, because it is essential to our salvation to understand who the seed of the woman really is. We must know the great cause, to which we are committed, if we are to be prepared to sacrifice our life for it.

Reprinted from LandMarks, September 1993.

Pastor Bob Trefz is dedicated to preparing people for the coming crisis and Jesus’ soon return.

The Remnant Church Not Babylon, Part II

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Those who advocate error, will say, “The Lord saith,” “when the Lord hath not spoken.” [See Ezekiel 22:28.] They testify to falsehood, and not to truth. If those who have been proclaiming the message that the church is Babylon, had used the money expended in publishing and circulating this error, in building up, instead of tearing down, they would have made it evident that they were with the people whom God is leading. There is a great work to be done in the world, a great work to be done in foreign lands. Schools must be established in order that youth, children, and those of more mature age may be educated as rapidly as possible to enter the missionary field. There is need not only of ministers for foreign fields, but of wise, judicious laborers of all kinds. The Macedonian cry is sounding from all parts of the world, “Come over and help us.” [Acts 16:9.] With all the responsibility upon us to go and preach the gospel to every creature, there is great need of men and means, and Satan is at work in every conceivable way to tie up means, and to hinder men from engaging in the very work that they should be doing. The money that should be used in doing the good work of building houses of worship, of establishing schools for the purpose of educating laborers for the missionary field, of drilling young men and women so that they may go forth and labor patiently, intelligently, and with all perseverance, that they may be agents through whom a people may be prepared to stand in the great day of God, is diverted from a channel of usefulness and blessing, into a channel of evil and cursing. The great day of God is upon us, and hasteth greatly, and there is a great work to be done, and it must be done speedily. But we find that amid the work that is to be done, there are those professing to believe the present truth, who know not how to expend the means intrusted to them, and because of a lack of meekness and lowliness of heart, they do not see how great is the work to be done. All those who learn of Jesus, will be laborers together with God. But those who go forth to proclaim error, expending time and money in a vain work, lay upon the true workers in new fields increased burden; for instead of devoting their time to advocating truth, they are obliged to counteract the work of those who are proclaiming falsehood, and claiming that they have the message from heaven. If those who have done this kind of work, had felt the necessity of answering the prayer of Christ that he offered to his Father just previous to his crucifixion,—that the disciples of Christ might be one as he was one with the Father,—they would not be wasting the means intrusted to them, and so greatly needed to advance the truth. They would not be wasting precious time and ability in disseminating error, and thus necessitate the devoting of the laborer’s time to counteracting and quenching its influence. A work of this character is inspired not from above, but from beneath.

Tares Among the Wheat

“Who is he among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.” [Isaiah 50:10, 11.] The message that has been borne by those who have proclaimed the church to be Babylon, has made the impression that God has no church upon earth.

Has God no living church? He has a church, but it is the church militant, not the church triumphant. We are sorry that there are defective members, that there are tares amid the wheat. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. . . . So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.” [Matthew 13:24, 25, 27–30.]

In the parable of the wheat and the tares, we see the reason why the tares were not to be plucked up; it was lest the wheat be rooted up with the tares. Human opinion and judgment would make grave mistakes. But rather than have a mistake made, and one single blade of wheat rooted up, the Master says, “Let both grow together until the harvest;” then the angels will gather out the tares, which will be appointed to destruction. Although in our churches, that claim to believe advanced truth, there are those who are faulty and erring, as tares among the wheat, God is long-suffering and patient. He reproves and warns the erring, but he does not destroy those who are long in learning the lesson he would teach them; he does not uproot the tares from the wheat. Tares and wheat are to grow together till the harvest; when the wheat comes to its full growth and development, and because of its character when ripened, it will be fully distinguished from the tares. The church of Christ on earth will be imperfect, but God does not destroy his church because of its imperfection. There have been and will be those who are filled with zeal not according to knowledge, who would purify the church, and uproot the tares from the midst of the wheat. But Christ has given special light as to how to deal with those who are erring, and with those who are unconverted in the church. There is to be no spasmodic, zealous, hasty action taken by church-members in cutting off those they may think defective in character. Tares will appear among the wheat; but it would do more harm to weed out the tares, unless in God’s appointed way, than to leave them alone. While the Lord brings into the church those who are truly converted, Satan at the same time brings persons who are not converted into its fellowship. While Christ is sowing the good seed, Satan is sowing the tares. There are two opposing influences continually exerted on the members of the church. One influence is working for the purification of the church, and the other for the corrupting of the people of God.

Left Without Excuse

Jesus knew that Judas was defective in character, but notwithstanding this, he accepted him as one of the disciples, and gave him the same opportunities and privileges that he gave to the others whom he had chosen. Judas was left without excuse in the evil course he afterward pursued. Judas might have become a doer of the word, as were eventually Peter and James and John and the other disciples. Jesus gave precious lessons of instruction, so that those who were associated with him might have been converted, and have no need of clinging to the defects that marred their characters.

Some people seem to think that upon entering the church they will have their expectations fulfilled, and meet only with those who are pure and perfect. They are zealous in their faith, and when they see faults in church-members, they say, “We left the world in order to have no association with evil characters, but the evil is here also;” and they ask, as did the servants in the parable, “From whence then hath it tares?” But we need not be thus disappointed, for the Lord has not warranted us in coming to the conclusion that the church is perfect; and all our zeal will not be successful in making the church militant as pure as the church triumphant. The Lord forbids us to proceed in any violent way against those whom we think erring, and we are not to deal out excommunications and denunciations to those who are faulty.

Unity not Disunion

Finite man is likely to misjudge character, but God does not leave the work of judgment and pronouncing upon character to those who are not fitted for it. We are not to say what constitutes the wheat, and what the tares. The time of the harvest will fully determine the character of the two classes specified under the figure of the tares and the wheat. The work of separation is given to the angels of God, and not committed into the hands of any man. False doctrine is one of the Satanic influences that work in the church, and brings into it those who are unconverted in heart. Men do not obey the words of Jesus Christ, and thus seek for unity in faith, spirit, and doctrine. They do not labor for the unity of spirit for which Christ prayed, which would make the testimony of Christ’s disciples effective in convincing the world that God had sent his Son into the world, “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” [John 3:16.] If the unity for which Christ prayed, existed among the people of God, they would bear living testimony, would send forth a bright light to shine amid the moral darkness of the world.

Instead of the unity which should exist among believers there is disunion; for Satan is permitted to come in, and through his specious deceptions and delusions he leads those who are not learning of Christ meekness and lowliness of heart, to take a different line from the church, and break up, if possible, the unity of the church. Men arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves. They claim that God has given them great light; but how do they act under its influence? Do they pursue the course that the two disciples pursued on their journey to Emmaus? When they received light, they returned and found those whom God had led and was still leading, and told them how they had seen Jesus and had talked with him. Have the men who have claimed to have light concerning the church, pursued this course? Have they gone to those who are chosen of God to bear a living testimony, and given them evidence that this light would better qualify them to prepare a people to stand in the great day of God? Have they sought counsel of those who have been and are still bearing the truth, and giving to the world the last message of warning? Have they counseled with those who have had a deep experience in the things of God? Why were these men so full of zeal for the cause, not present at the General Conference held at Battle Creek, as were the devout men at Jerusalem at the time of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? At the great heart of the work, men opened their treasures of light, and while the Lord was pouring out his Spirit upon the people, did these men receive of the heavenly anointing? While the deep movings of the Spirit of God were made manifest among the people, and souls were being converted, and hard hearts broken, there were those who were listening to the suggestions of Satan, and they were inspired with zeal from beneath to go forth and proclaim that the very people receiving of the Holy Spirit, who are to receive the latter rain and the glory that is to lighten the whole earth, were Babylon. Did the Lord give these messengers their message?—No; for it was not a message of truth.

Light of the World

Although there are evils existing in the church, and will be until the end of the world, the church in these last days is to be the light of the world, that is polluted and demoralized by sin. The church, enfeebled and defective, needing to be reproved, warned, and counseled, is the only object upon earth upon which Christ bestows his supreme regard. The world is a workshop in which, through the co-operation of human and divine agencies, Jesus is making experiments by his grace and divine mercy upon human hearts. Angels are amazed as they behold the transformation of character brought about in those who yield themselves to God, and they express their joy in songs of rapturous praise to God and to the Lamb. They see those who are by nature the children of wrath, converted, and becoming laborers together with Christ in drawing souls to God. They see those who were in darkness becoming lights to shine amid the moral night of this crooked and perverse generation. They see them becoming prepared by a Christ-like experience to suffer with their Lord, and afterward to be partakers with him in his glory in heaven above.

God has a church on earth who are lifting up the down-trodden law, and presenting to the world the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. The church is the depositary of the wealth of the riches of the grace of Christ, and through the church eventually will be made manifest the final and full display of the love of God to the world that is to be lightened with its glory. The prayer of Christ that his church may be one as he was one with his Father, will finally be answered. The rich dowry of the Holy Spirit will be given, and through its constant supply to the people of God, they will become witnesses in the world of the power of God unto salvation.

Perverse Things

There is but one church in the world who are at the present time standing in the breach, and making up the hedge, building up the old waste places; and for any man to call the attention of the world and other churches to this church, denouncing her as Babylon, is to do a work in harmony with him who is the accuser of the brethren. Is it possible that men will arise from among us, who speak perverse things, and give voice to the very sentiments that Satan would have disseminated in the world in regard to those who keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus? Is there not work enough to satisfy your zeal in presenting the truth to those who are in the darkness of error? As those who have been made stewards of means and ability, you have been misapplying your Lord’s goods in disseminating error. The whole world is filled with hatred of those who proclaim the binding claims of the law of God, and the church who are loyal to Jehovah must engage in no ordinary conflict. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12.] Those who have any realization of what this warfare means, will not turn their weapons against the church militant, but with all their powers will wrestle with the people of God against the confederacy of evil.

Those who start up to proclaim a message on their own individual responsibility, who while claiming to be taught and led of God, still make it their special work to tear down that which God has been for years building up, are not doing the will of God. Be it known that these men are on the side of the great deceiver. Believe them not. They are allying themselves with the enemies of God and the truth. They will deride the order of the ministry as a system of priestcraft. From such turn away, have no fellowship with their message, however much they may quote the testimonies and seek to intrench themselves behind them. Receive them not; for God has not given them this work to do. The result of such work will be unbelief in the testimonies, and as far as possible, they will make of none effect the work that I have for years been doing. Almost my whole life-time has been devoted to this work, but my burden has often been made heavier by the arising of men who went forth to proclaim a message that God had not given them. This class of evil-workers have selected portions of the testimonies, and have placed them in the frame-work of error, in order by this setting to give influence to their false testimonies. When it is made manifest that their message is error, then the testimonies brought into the companionship of error, share the same condemnation; and people of the world, who do not know that the testimonies quoted are extracts from private letters, used without my consent, present these matters as evidence that my work is not of God, or of truth, but falsehood. Those who thus bring the work of God into disrepute will have to answer before God for the work they are doing.

Divinely Appointed Ministry

God has a church, and she has a divinely appointed ministry. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” [Ephesians 4:11–15.]

The Lord has his appointed agencies, and a church that has lived through persecution, conflict, and darkness. Jesus loved the church, and gave himself for it, and he will replenish, refine, ennoble, and elevate it, so that it shall stand fast amid the corrupting influences of this world. Men appointed of God have been chosen to watch with jealous care, with vigilant perseverance, that the church may not be overthrown by the evil devices of Satan, but that she shall stand in the world to promote the glory of God among men. There will ever be fierce conflict between the church and the world. Mind will come into contact with mind, principle with principle, truth with error; but in the crisis soon to culminate, which has already begun, the men of experience are to do their God-appointed work, and watch for souls, as they that must give an account.

Review and Herald, August 29, 1893; September 5, 1893; September 12, 1893.

To be continued . . .

Ellen G. White (1827–1915) wrote more than 5,000 periodical articles and 40 books during her lifetime. Today, including compilations from her 50,000 pages of manuscript, more than 100 titles are available in English. She is the most translated woman writer in the entire history of literature, and the most translated American author of either gender. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Mrs. White was appointed by God as a special messenger to draw the world’s attention to the Holy Scriptures.

Prisoners of Hope — A Time

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As we near the close of time, we all recognize that conditions in the physical world such as calamities; earthquakes; accidents by air, sea and land; conflict; immorality; killings; deceit; and unprecedented confusion exist because the conflict between Christ and Satan on this earth is reaching a climax.

Not only do we see physical signs, which portend the end of all things, but we see signs in the churches. We see signs also in the Seventh-day Adventist Church which indicate that we have reached a time which the Lord predicted would come, as foretold in the Spirit of Prophecy. We have reached, I believe, a very serious time not only in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but in each one of our lives, a time when each of us must make a choice as to whether we will follow God or man.

This Is A Time

This is a time when two parties have developed in the church. Ellen White wrote, “The wheat and tares grow up together for the harvest.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 114.

This is a time when the last of apostasy is seen lifting its head. It is a time when we have thought that to compromise with worldly churches would give us greater strength and power to carry on God’s work. (See Eternity magazine, September 1956.) It is a time when beliefs of the reformers and evangelicals appear to be more readily accepted than the fundamental beliefs established by the Lord. It is a time when certain basic beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists may be in question, and a time when a shaking may well reach its climax.

This is a time when the testimony of the True Witness has not been half heeded; a time when the third angel’s message should be not only truly understood, but promulgated in its fullness; and a time when the Lord wants this to be done. It is a time when the sanctuary question, the nature of Christ, and the plan of salvation should be given special attention; a time when Laodicea and each one of us should cease to be wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

It is a time when we should determine anew that we will not hold on to, cherish, and hug that one pet sin. This is a time when each of us should give our will completely to Christ, be born again, given a new heart, put on the wedding garment equivalent to accepting Christ’s perfect character, the divine nature and so be given the power necessary to live above sin and obey His commandments. “Christ in the weakness of humanity was to meet the temptations of one possessing the powers of the higher nature that God had bestowed on the angelic family. But Christ’s humanity was united with divinity, and in this strength He would bear all the temptations that Satan could bring against Him, and yet keep His soul untainted by sin. And this power to overcome He would give to every son and daughter of Adam who would accept by faith the righteous attributes of His character.” Ibid., Book 1, 223.

It is a time when the so-called impossible should not only become possible, but should permeate our lives and spill over into the lives of others. It is a time for us to live lives like Enoch and Elijah. We have reached a time when each person must study in order to understand the issues at stake and to escape the snares of Satan.

Rejected Message

“I saw that the testimony of the True Witness has not been half heeded. The solemn testimony upon which the destiny of the church hangs has been lightly esteemed, if not entirely disregarded.” Early Writings, 270. Now, the testimony of the True Witness – Christ – has to do with several things, repentance and the third angel’s message being among them.

We have again come to a time (the first time being 1888) when we should determine whether or not we have rejected the Lord’s message to us. Might it be that the same message of love given in 1888, which was rejected, we again reject today? In Christ’s Object Lessons, 271, we read, “To learn of Christ means to receive His grace, which is His character.”

“The Scriptures plainly show that the work of sanctification is progressive. When in conversion the sinner finds peace with God through the blood of the atonement, the Christian life has but just begun. Now he is to ‘go on unto perfection.’ [Hebrews 6:1.]” The Great Controversy, 470.

“None are living Christians unless they have a daily experience in the things of God and daily practice self-denial, cheerfully bearing the cross [the cross and the yoke are symbolic of giving the will to Christ as well as of service] and following Christ. Every living Christian will advance daily in the divine life. As he advances toward perfection, he experiences a conversion to God every day, and this conversion is not completed until he attains to the perfection of Christian character, a full preparation for the finishing touch of immortality.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 505. [Emphasis added.] This appears to me to be a time when we should plan to meet God’s standard.

Salvation and the Sanctuary

“As we near the close of time . . . we should devote ourselves to the study of the plan of salvation, that we may have an appreciation of how highly Jehovah has valued the salvation of man.” Review and Herald, October 7, 1890.

“We are in the great day of atonement, and the sacred work of Christ for the people of God that is going on at the present time in the heavenly sanctuary should be our constant study.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 520.

“The religion of Christ means more than the forgiveness of sin; it means taking away our sins . . . .” Christ’s Object Lessons, 420. Should we not be thinking about living above sin?

Now is the time to devote ourselves to the study of the plan of salvation. Now is the time the heavenly sanctuary should be our constant study. These are the two subjects which, in my mind, God gives us special instruction to study. Dr. Geoffrey J. Paxton, in his book, The Shaking of Adventism (Zenith Publishers, Wilmington, Delaware, January 1977), says that we are in a life and death struggle as to the nature of the gospel. I will attempt to show you what this means.

“We are not called to worship and serve God by the use of the means employed in former years. God requires higher service now than ever before. He requires the improvement of the heavenly gifts. He has brought us into a position where we need higher and better things than have ever been needed before.” Review and Herald, February 25, 1890.

As we think about all of this, it may seem to some a hopeless task and an unapproachable goal. Neither of these apply. I do not represent myself as having any new light only old light. The time has come when we should come to grips with the problems the Lord says we have, and not only know what these problems are, but get solutions to them.

As we consider, under the subject of salvation, such topics as the nature of Christ; the sanctuary; the straight truth; the divine nature; the shaking; man’s condition of being wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, may we not only see causes for our condition, but a solution and a cure for the conditions which confuse and plague most of us.

I have talked with some who believe we have no problems; that those who believe we have problems are either fanatics or offshoots. The time is here when we should look at things as they are and not as they appear or the way we may be told by some that they are. How can we read Revelation 3:14-22 and possibly conclude that we may meet our Lord in peace at His coming if we continue such a course?

It Is Time

One statement, appearing in the August 1, 1894, issue of Review and Herald, shortly after 1888, indicated the condition of that time and ours; it tells us why we are wretched and naked. One of the biggest questions is how we may become clothed in God’s clothing, of what this consists, and not only how we put on this clothing, but how we may keep this clothing clean. The statement referred to above follows: “What is it that constitutes the wretchedness, the nakedness of those who feel rich and increased with goods? It is the want of the righteousness of Christ. In their own righteousness they are represented as clothed with filthy rags, and yet in this condition they flatter themselves that they are clothed upon with Christ’s righteousness. Could deception be greater?” It is time we should become clothed in God’s clothing.

“Those who will be true to God and to duty will be menaced [threatened], denounced [condemned openly], and proscribed [condemned as dangerous]. They will ‘be betrayed [to deliver as an enemy by treachery] both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends.’ [Luke 21:16.]” Testimonies, vol. 5, 473. It is a time when we should love those who are true to God.

It is a time when we should look to God for wisdom. We need to recognize and appreciate His great love for us, as well as Christ’s death on the cross, His resurrection, and that He alone can save us. We need to know that we must be born again and given a new heart, that we must give our wills completely to Christ and become partakers of the divine nature.

We have reached a time when the following quotation should be prayerfully considered:

“For all that you have and are, dear friends, you are indebted to God. He has given you powers that, to a certain extent, are similar to those which He Himself possesses; and you should labor earnestly to develop these powers, not to please and exalt self, but to glorify Him.

“This earth is the Lord’s. Here it may be seen that nature, animate and inanimate, obeys His will. God created man a superior being; he alone is formed in the image of God and is capable of partaking of the divine nature, of co-operating with his Creator, and executing His plans; and he alone is found at war with God’s purposes.” Ibid., 311. [Emphasis added.]

May I repeat, this is a time when we should seriously consider the above quotation. It is a time when we must become like Enoch and Elijah, because we, like them, may be translated to heaven without seeing death.

It is a time when each one of us should study as to how we may become a partaker of the divine nature, as mentioned above, because it is through this means that God wants to give us the power to live and to become like Jesus.

Surely, we are all “Prisoners of Hope”!

Raymond L. Knoll, M.D. was born May 11, 1907. Becoming a Seventh-day Adventist in 1923, he has a love and devotion to the Holy Bible and to the writings of Ellen G. White. Graduating from a community college in Alberta, Canada, in 1928 where he majored in mathematics and science, he continued his education at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, graduating with a B.A. in mathematics and a minor in science. After teaching several years in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he entered the College of Medical Evangelists Medical School in Loma Linda, California, graduating with his M.D. in 1944. A freelance writer, he wrote and published the book, How to Live To Be 101 and Be Able To Enjoy It!

Bible Study Guide – Parables from the Master Teacher – Tares Among the Wheat

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July 14, 2019 – July 20, 2019

Key Text

“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field” (Matthew 13:24).

Study Help:  Christ’s Object Lessons, 70–75.

Introduction

“Many will be in heaven who their neighbors supposed would never enter there. Man judges from appearance, but God judges the heart. The tares and the wheat are to grow together until the harvest; and the harvest is the end of probationary time.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 72.

Sunday

THE WORK OF GOD

  • Where was the good seed sown? Matthew 13:24.

Note: “ ‘The field,’ Christ said, ‘is the world’ (Matthew 13:38). But we must understand this as signifying the church of Christ in the world. The parable is a description of that which pertains to the kingdom of God, His work of salvation of men; and this work is accomplished through the church. True, the Holy Spirit has gone out into all the world; everywhere it is moving upon the hearts of men; but it is in the church that we are to grow and ripen for the garner of God.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 70.

  • What is the object of God’s highest regard in this world? Zechariah 2:8, last part; Ephesians 5:25.

 Note: “I testify to my brethren and sisters that the church of Christ, enfeebled and defective as it may be, is the only object on earth on which He bestows His supreme regard. While He extends to all the world His invitation to come to Him and be saved, He commissions His angels to render divine help to every soul that cometh to Him in repentance and contrition, and He comes personally by His Holy Spirit into the midst of His church.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 15.

Monday

HINDERING THE WORK OF THE ENEMY

  • Who else is engaged in sowing, and what does he sow? Matthew 13:38, 39.

Note: “The tares represent a class who are the fruit or embodiment of error, of false principles. ‘The enemy that sowed them is the devil’ (Matthew 13:39). Neither God nor His angels ever sowed a seed that would produce a tare. The tares are always sown by Satan, the enemy of God and man.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 71.

“While the Lord brings into the church those who are truly converted, Satan at the same time brings persons who are not converted into its fellowship. While Christ is sowing the good seed, Satan is sowing the tares. There are two opposing influences continually exerted on the members of the church. One influence is working for the purification of the church, and the other for the corrupting of the people of God.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 46.

  • In the parable, when did the enemy work? Matthew 13:25. What can we learn from this?

Note: “When the word is spoken, you should remember, brethren, that you are listening to the voice of God through His delegated servant. Listen attentively. Sleep not for one instant, because by this slumber you may lose the very words that you need most—the very words which, if heeded, would save your feet from straying into wrong paths. … Sometimes young men and women have so little reverence for the house and worship of God that they keep up a continual communication with each other during the sermon. Could these see the angels of God looking upon them and marking their doings, they would be filled with shame, with abhorrence of themselves. God wants attentive hearers. It was while men slept that Satan sowed his tares.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 493.

  • How could Satan’s work have been prevented? 1 Thessalonians 5:5–8.

 Note: “If faithfulness and vigilance had been preserved, if there had been no sleeping or negligence upon the part of any, the enemy would not have had so favorable an opportunity to sow tares among the wheat. Satan never sleeps. He is watching, and he improves every opportunity to set his agents to scatter error, which finds good soil in many unsanctified hearts.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 113.

Tuesday

WHEAT AND TARES CO-MINGLED

  • What did the servants discern when the blade appeared? Matthew 13:26. What did they propose to do in order to preserve the purity of the crop? Verses 27, 28.

Note: “Christ’s servants are grieved as they see true and false believers mingled in the church. They long to do something to cleanse the church. Like the servants of the householder, they are ready to uproot the tares.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 71.

  • What was the directive of the Master concerning the tares? Why? Matthew 13:29, 30.

Note: “As the tares have their roots closely intertwined with those of the good grain, so false brethren in the church may be closely linked with true disciples. The real character of these pretended believers is not fully manifested. Were they to be separated from the church, others might be caused to stumble, who but for this would have remained steadfast.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 72.

“In His mercy and long-suffering, God bears patiently with the perverse and even the falsehearted. Among Christ’s chosen apostles was Judas the traitor. Should it then be a cause of surprise or discouragement that there are falsehearted ones among His workers today? If He who reads the heart could bear with him who He knew was to be His betrayer, with what patience should we bear with those at fault.” The Ministry of Healing, 493.

  • Why cannot the Master’s instruction be used to justify leaving open sinners in the church? Matthew 18:17; 1 Corinthians 5:6, 11, 13.

Note: “As a people professing to be reformers, treasuring the most solemn, purifying truths of God’s word, we must elevate the standard far higher than it is at the present time. Sin and sinners in the church must be promptly dealt with, that others may not be contaminated. Truth and purity require that we make more thorough work to cleanse the camp from Achans. Let those in responsible positions not suffer sin in a brother. Show him that he must either put away his sins or be separated from the church.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 147.

Wednesday

IN THE CHURCH

  • How is the work of separating the wheat from the tares symbolized? Ezekiel 9:2–4. When does this work begin? Revelation 14:9–13.

Note: “I then saw the third angel. Said my accompanying angel, ‘Fearful is his work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner. These things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention.’ ” Early Writings, 118.

“The time of the judgment is a most solemn period, when the Lord gathers His own from among the tares. Those who have been members of the same family are separated. A mark is placed upon the righteous.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 234.

“The angel is to place a mark upon the forehead of all who are separated from sin and sinners, and the destroying angel will follow, to slay utterly both old and young.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 505.

  • Why is God the only One capable of judging those who are not open sinners? Psalm 7:9, last part; 44:21; Proverbs 21:2.

 Note: “Should we try to uproot from the church those whom we suppose to be spurious Christians, we should be sure to make mistakes. Often we regard as hopeless subjects the very ones whom Christ is drawing to Himself. Were we to deal with these souls according to our imperfect judgment, it would perhaps extinguish their last hope. Many who think themselves Christians will at last be found wanting.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 71, 72.

  • What evidence shows that the destiny of each class is fixed before the close of probation? Revelation 22:11.

Note: “There is no time when all the wicked will turn to God. The wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest. …

“When the work of the gospel is completed, there immediately follows the separation between the good and the evil, and the destiny of each class is forever fixed.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 123.

Thursday

IN THE WORLD

  • For what purpose will the wheat be in contact with the tares in the world until the very end? 1 Peter 2:9, last part.

 Note: “The day is just upon us when the righteous shall be bound like precious grain in bundles for the heavenly garner, while the wicked are, like the tares, gathered for the fires of the last great day. But the wheat and tares ‘grow together until the harvest’ (Matthew 13:30). In the discharge of life’s duties the righteous will to the last be brought in contact with the ungodly. The children of light are scattered among the children of darkness, that the contrast may be seen by all. Thus are the children of God to ‘show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light’ (1 Peter 2:9).” Testimonies, vol. 5, 100.

  • What great separation will take place in the very end? Matthew 13:40–43; 15:13; 24:31. What Old Testament feast pointed to that time? Leviticus 23:34.

Note: “The Feast of Tabernacles was not only commemorative but typical. It not only pointed back to the wilderness sojourn, but, as the feast of harvest, it celebrated the ingathering of the fruits of the earth, and pointed forward to the great day of final ingathering, when the Lord of the harvest shall send forth His reapers to gather the tares together in bundles for the fire, and to gather the wheat into His garner. At that time the wicked will all be destroyed.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 541.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1     Where are we to grow in our faith, and how does God send help for us?

2    How can you prevent Satan from sowing tares in your heart while you are at church?

3    Why should we be long-suffering with our brethren and sisters?

4    Why can’t we uproot from the church those whom we think are tares?

5    What is the purpose of the children of light being scattered among the children of darkness? Do I blend in with the light or the darkness?

Inspiration – Instruction to Church Members

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In the Church today there are tares among the wheat. Christ declared: “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

“Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house: and His disciples came unto Him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43.

Read this instruction carefully, doing all in your power to understand the parable. The Holy Spirit will impress the minds of those who desire a clear comprehension of this parable.

How the Growth of the Gospel Seed is Hindered

The Saviour said again: “Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” Matthew 13:18–22.

Those who do not follow true Christian principles, whose natural and cultivated tendencies to wrong have not been changed by the grace of God, have no root in themselves; and therefore they lose the interest which they once felt in the truth. They return to their sinful practices. They may continue to make a profession of Christianity, but they do not honor the truth. They do not go on from grace to grace. For a time they are neither cold nor hot, but they finally become hardened to all good impressions. They grow careless, worldly, inattentive. They hear the truth, but do not receive it. Of this class Christ says: “Every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:26, 27.

Of Chorazin and Bethsaida, cities in which so many of Christ’s mighty works were done, which were exalted to heaven by being honored with His presence, the Saviour declared: “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.” Matthew 11:21–24.

Those who have been favored with great light and many opportunities, but who have not accepted the light nor improved the opportunities, who have not followed correct principles in dealing with their brethren or with unbelievers, will receive punishment in accordance with their sin. They will meet with some sad surprises in the last great day, when every case shall be brought up in review before God. In their record they will see that which will fill them with shame, but nothing can be changed. All is beyond recall.

Christ has made every provision for the sanctification of His Church. He has made abundant provision for every soul to have such grace and strength that he will be more than a conqueror in the warfare against sin. The Saviour is wounded afresh and put to open shame when His people pay no heed to His word. He came to this world and lived a sinless life, that in His power His people might also live lives of sinlessness. He desires them by practicing the principles of truth to show to the world that God’s grace has power to sanctify the heart.

Church Members Are to Help One Another

Christ has given direction for their guidance, declaring that they are to show Christian interest in one another. If one commits sin, do not talk of it among yourselves. Go first to the one who has offended. “Tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” Matthew 18:15. “If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Matthew 5:23, 24. Do church members obey this word? Suppose that in every institution established among us, in publishing houses, sanitariums, and schools, God’s people had sought to understand and follow His plan, as it is outlined in the Old and New Testaments. Suppose that the instruction given by Christ to the children of Israel had been woven into the life-practice. Would not we as a people stand today on vantage ground?

The instruction given in Matthew presents the work that must be done to keep the Church purified from error and defilement. The brethren in the Church are to be faithful to one another, and this is in every sense applicable to the sisters also. When you bring an offering to God, ask yourself, Am I cherishing wrong feelings toward any of my brethren in the faith? If you are, do all in your power to be reconciled to the one with whom you are at variance.

It is a sin to cherish anger against a brother or a sister in the Church. Christ treats anger as murder. He declares, “I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause”—O, how much there is of this in the Church today!—“shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” Matthew 5:22. God has a controversy with that man. He thinks he has occasion for feeling angry, for calling his brother raca, “vain fellow;” but these passionate words are a savor of death unto death. He who utters them is not co-operating with God, but with Satan. In heaven his wicked railing is placed in the same list as swearing.

The Review and Herald, April 1, 1902.

Keys to the Storehouse – Which Bundle are you Choosing?

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A train of cars was shown me, going with the speed of lightning. The angel bade me look carefully. I fixed my eyes upon the train. It seemed that the whole world was on board, that there could not be one left. Said the angel, ‘They are binding in bundles ready to burn.’ Then he showed me the conductor, who appeared like a stately, fair person, whom all the passengers looked up to and reverenced. I was perplexed and asked my attending angel who it was. He said, ‘It is Satan. He is the conductor in the form of an angel of light. He has taken the world captive. They are given over to strong delusions, to believe a lie, that they may be damned. This agent, the next highest in order to him, is the engineer, and other of his agents are employed in different offices as he may need them, and they are all going with lightning speed to perdition.’

“I asked the angel if there were none left. He bade me look in an opposite direction, and I saw a little company traveling a narrow pathway. All seemed to be firmly united, bound together by the truth, in bundles, or companies. Said the angel, ‘The third angel is binding, or sealing, them in bundles for the heavenly garner.’ ” Early Writings, 88, 89. [Emphasis supplied.]

“The wicked are being bound up in bundles, bound up in trusts, in unions, in confederacies. Let us have nothing to do with these organizations. God is our Ruler, our Governor, and He calls us to come out from the world and be separate (11 Corinthians 6:17). … If we refuse to do this, if we continue to link up with the world and to look at every matter from a worldly standpoint, we shall become like the world. When worldly policy and worldly ideas govern our transactions we cannot stand on the high and holy platform of eternal truth.” Last Day Events, 116.

In which bundle are you being bound? Is it the bundle or company that is obeying God as He calls us to come out from the world and be separate? Or is it the bundle or company that stands on the wide road with the whole world and following after worldly policy and ideas? We are known by our fruits. What are your fruits showing?

Even Abigail, the wife of Nabal, knew at that time about the bundles of life and gave the warning to David who was in danger of making the wrong decision and being bound into the wrong bundle. What decisions are you making today?

“And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. … Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.” I Samuel 25:23, 29.

Oh Lord, Give me the strength to step from that speeding car, the world, which is encircling me and destroying my spiritual, mental, and physical health. Deliver me from the whirlwind of deception and error. Hold up my goings in Thy paths only, that my footsteps slip not so that I may be bound into the bundle of life with others. Amen.

Wheat and Tares

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The parable of the wheat and the tares found in Matthew 13 is one of the few parables that Jesus explained right after it was told. A review of this parable is found in Christ’s Object Lessons, 70–74.

“Another parable He put forth unto them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?” He said to them, “An enemy has done this.” The servants said to him, “Do you want us then to go and gather them up?” But he said, “No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at [or during] the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” Matthew 13:24–30. NKJV.

The harvest is the little period of time just before the end of the year. Jesus explains this beginning in verses 36–43: “Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.’ He answered and said to them: ‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of [or during] this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’ ” (NKJV)

Notice it says in verse 41 that He is going to send His angels and they are going to gather out of His kingdom. What is His kingdom? This is a parable, not just about the natural world but more specifically the spiritual world. When Jesus says that the field is the world, He is talking about the spiritual world—the church. The angels are going to gather out of the church, out of His kingdom, all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness.

Everybody is going to be bound in a bundle, one that will be burned up or one that will be taken to heaven. Right now we are living in this harvest time. It is during this time that the tares and the wheat are separated by the angels.

Some think that we just have to put up with or endure anything in the church because the wheat and the tares have to grow together. That is not what Jesus said.

“Christ has plainly taught that those who persist in open sin must be separated from the church, but He has not committed to us the work of judging character and motive.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 71.

The parable of the tares cannot be used to tolerate open sin. The person who persists in open sin is to be separated from the church. A tare is a person who has sin in the heart but is not in open sin.

Another misunderstanding of this parable is that the righteous and the wicked will be together until Jesus comes and then the angels will do the separating. But let’s read what is going to happen before that time. Before Jesus comes the tares will have been bound in bundles, even though they may not be separated from the wheat or have been burned.

“The evil servant says in his heart, ‘My lord delayeth his coming’ [Matthew 24:48]. He does not say that Christ will not come. He does not scoff at the idea of His second coming. But in his heart and by his actions and words he declares that the Lord’s coming is delayed. He banishes from the minds of others the conviction that the Lord is coming quickly. His influence leads men to presumptuous, careless delay. They are confirmed in their worldliness and stupor. Earthly passions, corrupt thoughts, take possession of the mind. The evil servant eats and drinks with the drunken, unites with the world in pleasure seeking.” The Desire of Ages, 635.

A study of the book of Revelation reveals a great harlot that is drunk causing the rest of the world to also be drunk. To eat and drink with the drunken is to get involved with the ecumenical movement. The people who call themselves Seventh-day Adventists and get involved with the ecumenical movement are eating and drinking with the drunken. The evil servant who eats and drinks with the drunken will smite his fellow servants (Matthew 24:49). Those who eat and drink with the drunken will also smite their fellow servants. This has happened in some countries where fellow church members have burned houses. Here in the United States of America some have been smitten by being taken to court and sued with an attempt made to put them in prison. Those same people who are involved in the ecumenical movement are smiting their fellow servants. “He smites his fellow servants, accusing and condemning those who are faithful to their Master. He mingles with the world. Like grows with like in transgression. It is a fearful assimilation. With the world he is taken in the snare.” Ibid., 635.

“There is One who said that the tares were not to be plucked up by human hands lest the wheat be rooted up also. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then the Lord sends forth His reapers to gather out the tares and bind them in bundles to burn, while the wheat is gathered into the heavenly garner. The time of the judgment is a most solemn period, when the Lord gathers His own from among the tares. Those who have been members of the same family are separated. A mark is placed upon the righteous.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 234. One is taken and one is left.

“The tares and wheat are now commingled, but then the one hand that alone can separate them will give to everyone his true position. … Those who have sought an excuse to avoid the cross of separation from the world will, with the world, be taken in the snare. They mingled with the tares from choice.” Ibid., 235.

If you attend a church where the preacher is not preaching the Three Angels’ Messages but something else, then you have a preacher who is a tare. If you attend a church like that, then you are mingling with the tares by choice.

“Like drew to like in transgression.” Ibid. Those who mingle with the tares by choice will become like them.

We are not referring here to mingling with somebody who is outwardly keeping the commandments but have some secret sin in their heart, but a tare that has gone to seed; a tare because the sin has become open. “Like drew to like in transgression. It is a fearful assimilation. Men choose to stand with the first rebel, who tempted Adam and Eve in Eden to disobey God. The tares multiply themselves, for they sow tares, and they have their part with the root of all sin—the devil.” Ibid.

This parable of the wheat and tares is really serious and one that we need to study asking the Lord to help us to understand, because it has to do with people who think they are going to be saved, but when they come to the end they find out they are in the wrong bundle.

When Ellen White wrote the following statement; it was prophetic, but I do not think it is a prophecy today—it is happening right before our eyes. “There are to be but two classes in our world, the obedient and the disobedient. …

“I see perplexities on every side. As character develops, man and woman will take their position, for varied circumstances brought to bear upon them will cause them to reveal the spirit which prompts them to action. Every one will reveal the character of the bundle with which he is binding himself. The wheat is being bound up for the heavenly garner. The true people of God are now bound up for the heavenly garner. The true people of God are now pulling apart, and the tares are being bound in bundles ready to burn.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 995.

“The true people of God are pulling apart from the tares—there is a separation that is taking place. Decided positions will be taken. Satan will move upon minds that have been indulged, upon men who have always had their own way, and anything presented to them in counsel or reproof to change their objectionable traits of character is considered faultfinding, binding them, restraining them, that they cannot have liberty to act themselves. The Lord in great mercy has sent messages of warning to them, but they would not listen to reproof. Like the enemy who rebelled in heaven, they do not like to hear, do not correct the wrong they have done but become accusers, declaring themselves misused and unappreciated.”

“Now is the time of trial, of test, of proving. Those who, like Saul, will persist in having their own way will suffer, as he did, loss of honor and finally the loss of the soul. God has a people, and they will be a tried people, but the people will be humble. They are under the guidance of the Holy One in thought, in word, in deed.” Ibid., 995, 996.

“Dark hours of trial are before the church because they have not obeyed the warnings and reproofs and counsel of God. What a bewitching power comes upon human minds to do contrary to the oft repeated will of God, and close the eyes and stop the ears, when Jesus is calling to them to hear His voice. He says, ‘My sheep hear My voice’ [John 10:27].

“That night in that boat was to the disciples a school where they were to receive their education for the great work which was to be done afterwards. The dark hours of trial are to come to every one as a part of his education for higher work, for more devoted, consecrated effort. The storm was not sent upon the disciples to shipwreck them, but to test and prove them individually. Before the great trouble shall come upon the world such as has never been since there was a nation, those who have faltered and who would ignorantly lead in unsafe paths will reveal this before the real vital test, the last proving, comes, so that whatsoever they may say will not be regarded as voicing the True Shepherd. The time of our educating will soon be over. We have no time to lose in walking through clouds of doubt and uncertainty because of uncertain voices.” Ibid., 1002.

Ellen White says the people who “would ignorantly lead in unsafe paths will reveal this before the real vital test.” They will reveal that human weakness before the great time of trouble comes so that God’s people will know not to listen to what they have to say. That has been going on for several years already. We need to know to whom we are listening. If you persistently listen to a preacher who is preaching error, the time will come when you will believe it. That is how the mind works—Adolf Hitler understood that if you tell something often enough, people eventually believe it. The Communists also understood that principle and many soldiers were brainwashed in the concentration camps during the Korean War by being subjected to being told on the loudspeaker over and over again, day and night, the same lies. We need to know to whom we are listening. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice.”

We have been told, “The time of our educating will soon be over. We have no time to lose in walking through clouds of doubt and uncertainty because of uncertain voices.” Ibid.

“Can we not discern the signs of the times? Can we not see how earnestly Satan is at work binding the tares in bundles, uniting the elements of his kingdom, that he may gain control of the world? This work of binding up the tares is going forward far more rapidly than we imagine. Satan is opposing every obstacle to the advancement of the truth. He is seeking to create diversity of opinion and to encourage worldliness and avarice. He works with the subtlety of the serpent and, when he sees it will do, with the ferocity of the lion. The ruin of souls is his only delight, their destruction his only employment; and shall we act as though we were paralyzed?” Testimonies, vol. 5, 383, 384.

Prior to World War 11, several hundred or almost 1,000 non-Adventists would attend evangelistic meetings when they were advertised. Today very few will attend. The time will come where it will appear impossible in places like Europe and the United States to save souls. But the message must keep going forward. God is working things out, and near the end there will be an influx of people who were before prevented from hearing the truth.

The hearts of men today are becoming very hardened in the United States so that we cannot even get the response in evangelism that we had 25 years ago.

“The time will come when the sensual, the proud, the careless in heart, those who are opposed to the truth, will have to be separated from the Office. Darkness will close about them, and soon, very soon the cry will come from unfeigned lips, ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved’ [Jeremiah 8:20]. They are gathering in bundles with the tares, to be consumed by the fires of the last day.” The Bible Echo, September 18, 1899.

This refers to God’s people who are working in God’s institutions. They will be bound in bundles with the tares so that eventually they will have to be separated. In which bundle will you be?

“ ‘The end of time is close upon us. The world’s inhabitants are being bound in bundles to be burned. Shall you be bound up with the tares?’ ‘Do you realize that every year thousands and thousands and ten times ten thousand souls are perishing, dying in their sins? The plagues and judgments of God are already doing their work, and souls are going to ruin because the light of truth has not been flashed upon their pathway.’ ” The General Conference Bulletin, April 1, 1897. [Emphasis author’s.]

It is one thing when we do not know when there are wheat and tares in the church, but if the tares go to seed, into open sin, the church has the responsibility to deal with it. This does not mean those persons cannot come to church—it may be that the Lord may convert their hearts, but they cannot be accepted as church members while still in open sin. “Christ requires personal faithfulness of his servants, and we are to show that we have no fellowship with the secret, hidden things of darkness. The wheat is not to sow itself among the tares; for although we may not practice the works of some of the members of the secret orders, in joining them we are registered in heaven as partakers of their evil deeds, responsible for their works of evil, and bound up in bundles with them as tares.” The Review and Herald, January 10, 1893.

That is a very interesting statement. There was a person who came to me requesting baptism after attending a prophecy seminar. He said he was a Mason and could not understand why he could not be a Seventh-day Adventist and at the same time be a Mason. He said whatever they did wrong he was not doing it. We need to understand how the Lord sees things and makes His decision on where our names are. According to this statement, if we join these secret orders, then in heaven we are accounted as partakers with them in their evil deeds. We are bound up with them as bundles to be burned.

According to this statement if we join these secret orders, then in heaven we are accounted as partakers with them in their evil deeds. We are bound up with them as bundles to be burned.

The secret societies are involved in open sin. Some of the highest officials in many of these secret societies are Luciferians—they worship Lucifer and break the first commandment. You may think you are a commandment keeper and keep the Sabbath, but in the books of heaven it is recorded that you are a partaker of those people in the society.

Some of the most prominent secret societies in the world are associated with the ecumenical movement. Soon the ecumenical movement is going to be responsible for enforcing the worship of the beast and causing most of the world to receive the mark of the beast. If you are a member of the organization doing that, you will be held responsible for supporting them. Remember, “In joining them we are registered in heaven as partakers of their evil deeds, responsible for their works of evil, and bound up in bundles with them as tares.” Ibid.In the revival and reformation movement today there has been a necessity worldwide to organize churches that are independent from conferences that are part of the ecumenical movement. This is not just happening in the United States; it is happening in Germany, Australia and all over the world; it is very serious. I firmly believe from studying these types of statements that the people who are involved in this ecumenical movement will not only have to get out but will need to confess and forsake their sins in that regard or they will lose their souls.

Mrs. White wrote to Elder and Mrs. J. A. Burden who were involved in the establishment of Loma Linda [University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California, United States]. She said, “In the time of the harvest the Lord will say to His reapers, ‘Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into My barn’ [Matthew 13:30]. God has a people on the earth who will see the evil of every phase of oppression, and will refuse to unite with the enemy in carrying out his plan.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 7, 58.

I would like to be one of those people who sees the evil and refuses to unite with the enemy. God is going to have a people who will discern every phase of oppression and refuse to cooperate in working out His plan. What about those who don’t see this? She wrote:

“There is little wisdom in binding about the work in any line. God has not given His sanction to any branch of His work’s being bound about. But unbelief has strengthened, and those who have not been sanctified through the truth will be subjects of Satan’s temptations. They will be his most successful allies to criticize, speak evil, and work unrighteousness. There are now those who will show just what they will do under temptation and in an emergency. They cannot be depended upon. [She is talking about Seventh-day Adventists.] The Lord has given them great light but they choose Barabbas rather than Christ. This is being enacted in our very midst. They crucify afresh the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. But the unsetting Sun of Righteousness is to shine forth, and those who have worked to counterwork what God has appointed will be gathered in bundles with the tares.” Ibid., vol. 19, 383, 384.

We must separate from the bundles that are being bound with tares. If we have been involved with any of these things, preaching or teaching publicly something that we find out is wrong, it will need to be confessed. If we have been involved in a secret society or the ecumenical movement, a confession is needed. Public sins are to be publicly confessed. Secret sins are not to be confessed publicly but to the Lord alone.

There is a good example of this in the last chapter of the gospel of John. Peter publicly denied his Lord three times. The disciples had known what Peter had done. So when Jesus and the disciples were all together, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you really love me?” Peter confessed and said he was truly sorry, but he had to affirm his faith and trust in God the same number of times he denied Him. (See John 21:15–17.)

“Every open sin should be as openly confessed. Wrong done to a fellow being should be made right with the one who has been offended. If any who are seeking health have been guilty of evilspeaking, if they have sowed discord in the home, the neighborhood, or the church, and have stirred up alienation and dissension, if by any wrong practice they have led others into sin, these things should be confessed before God and before those who have been offended.” The Ministry of Healing, 229.

Speaking of Peter’s experience, Ellen White said, “The gospel makes no compromise with evil. It cannot excuse sin. Secret sins are to be confessed in secret to God; but, for open sin, open confession is required.” The Desire of Ages, 811.

This topic is very serious. We cannot go on thinking that it will go away if we ignore it. Public sin must be confessed publicly, not simply spoken to the Lord in private.

If we want to be ready for Jesus to come, we need to go to the Lord and say, “Lord, have I been involved in open sin that I need to publicly make right?” An open sin that is flagrant among Seventh-day Adventists today is that they have taken their fellow Christians to court and sued them. “These men cast aside the counsel God has given, and do the very things He has bidden them not to do. They show that they have chosen the world as their judge, and in heaven their names are registered as one with unbelievers.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 299.

Do you want God to not hear your prayers because you are suing your fellow believers? “They insult His holy name, and He will leave them to the buffetings of Satan until they shall see their folly and seek the Lord by confession of their sin.” Ibid.

I am not concerned about the lawsuit, really, but I am concerned that there is no confession, no repentance, no making things right, and if that does not happen, they will be written in the books of heaven as unbelievers, and God will not hear their prayers until they confess this sin—this is not a private sin. When you go to court that is a matter of public record. We are living in a very serious time.

The tares are being bound in bundles, and when Jesus comes they will be burned. The good news is that while probation is still open you can be set free; confess your sins and tell the Lord you will have no part of that anymore. You can be free—you can be with the wheat. But don’t deceive yourself. There are a lot of people today who call themselves Seventh-day Adventists who are directly linked up with church organizations or secret societies that are bound up with tares.

My dear friends, if you do not want to be bound with the bundles of tares and burned with the tares when Jesus comes, you have to take heed to these statements and understand what is involved with being bound with the tares, being a member of an organization that is in open sin.

“For years I [Ellen White] have been given special light that we are not to center our work in the cities. The turmoil and confusion that fill these cities, the conditions brought about by the labor unions and the strikes, would prove a great hindrance to our work. Men are seeking to bring those engaged in the different trades under bondage to certain unions. This is not God’s planning, but the planning of a power that we should in no wise acknowledge. God’s word is fulfilling; the wicked are binding themselves up in bundles ready to be burned.” Maranatha, 180.

How are they doing this? They are part of the labor unions. I hear people say that they will not be able to make a living if they leave the labor union. It would be better for every one of us, even if we could not make a living, to be poor our whole lives than to be bound up with the tares. When you follow the Lord, He will open up the way so you will have what you need.

“These unions are one of the signs of the last days. Men are binding up in bundles ready to be burned. They may be church members [Seventh-day Adventists], but while they belong to these unions, they cannot possibly keep the commandments of God; for to belong to these unions means to disregard the entire Decalogue.

“ ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself’ (Luke 10:27). These words sum up the whole duty of man. They mean the consecration of the whole being, body, soul, and spirit, to God’s service. How can men obey these words, and at the same time pledge themselves to support that which deprives their neighbors of freedom of action? And how can men obey these words, and form combinations that rob the poorer classes of the advantages which justly belong to them, preventing them from buying or selling, except under certain conditions?” Selected Messages, Book 2, 143.

If you are a member of an organization that is in open sin and you are supporting that organization with your money, time and influence, it is written in the books of heaven that you are a partaker of their evil deeds.

When Jesus comes, we will all be bound with one bundle or the other. We have been counseled that we should not even be going to honest people in the world for advice about God’s work, because even if they are honest, but not under the control of heavenly angels, they are under the control of the devil though they are unaware. (See Selected Messages, Book 3, 300.) The last message to go to the world, the third angel’s message, separates every last person into one bundle or the other. “Fearful is his work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner.” Early Writings, 118.

It is interesting that as apostasy has developed in Adventism, we find ministers in churches who do not want to preach the Three Angels’ Messages anymore. That should be a warning sign. There is no middle ground, only two classes. Right now there are people whom the Bible describes as being in the valley of decision. In the end there will be only two classes.

Study this parable, because it reveals that we are all going to be in one bundle or the other. Every decision being made, in thoughts, feelings, and actions, is preparing us to be bound in one bundle or the other. Day by day our destiny is being determined and our characters weighed in heaven to see in which bundle we belong.

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Free Seventh-day Adventist Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

The Tares

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Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matthew 13:24–30.

Later Jesus explained the parable to His disciples. He said, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world [the spiritual world, the church], the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.” Notice, the tares are not part of the kingdom of His grace—they are the sons of the wicked one. “The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.” Matthew 13:37–40.

The Planting of the Tares

In this field, the church, the devil comes to plant seeds. He does this by bringing unconverted people into the church. They are not the children of the kingdom—they have not been baptized with the Holy Spirit, they are not part of the body of Christ,—but they are planted in the same field. They make a profession. From a human point of view, you cannot tell any difference. Ellen White calls them false brethren, and pretended believers.

The idea that you can profess to be a Christian, but not keep the law, and still be saved is the great deception of the last days. If your character does not harmonize with your profession, your profession is worthless.

It is too close to the end of time to be playing games of pretend. If you have been making a profession, but your religion is not real—if you have not really been baptized by the Holy Spirit; if you are not joined to the Lord as one spirit with Him; if you do not have a missionary spirit; if you do not have any sense of urgency to finish God’s work in the world—you need to go to your closet and pray, and say, “Lord, please take away this pretended religion and baptize me with the Holy Spirit. I want a real experience.”

The Tares and the Wheat Grow Together

The question that arises is: “How am I to deal with the tares around me in the church?” Some are quick to answer, “We just have to let the tares and wheat grow together, we know there is all this wickedness in the church, but Jesus said you have to let the wheat and the tares grow together, so you just have to put up with it.” Is that ever one of the Devil’s lies! The parable of the wheat and the tares does not apply to open sin. A tare illustrates a pretended believer who is counted with the true. You cannot tell the difference on the outside, but in his heart there is something that is not right.

One example of a tare is Judas. Was Judas numbered with the rest of the disciples? Yes. On the outside he was a follower of Christ. Was he a criminal? Not on the outside—his sins were secret, but on the inside his heart was not right. Did the rest of the disciples know what a mess he was in? No, they did not. Jesus did tell his disciples in John 6 that one of them was a devil, and John says he was speaking of Judas; but if Jesus told His disciples, “Now one of you is not converted, please get him disfellowshipped,” they would probably have disfellowshipped Peter! They did not know which one was not converted. It was something inside the heart. That is a tare. On the outside they are living according to all the commandments of God, but inside there is something that is not right. For example, could you tell me tonight if I am proud? No you cannot. And I cannot tell if any of you are proud, that is something of the heart.

Open Sin

What about open sin? Friend, we must never use the parable of the wheat and the tares to excuse open sin in the church! God forbid! That is a terrible perversion of the Scriptures. Where did we get such an abominable idea! Ellen White says if we permit open sin in the church it will crowd out the wheat, and destroy the whole crop!

Paul had the following to say about open sin: “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother.” Who is a brother? That is a church member. Now here is the problem—one is being called a brother “who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner.” Paul says, “not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore ‘put away from yourselves the evil person.’” 1 Corinthians 5:9–13. The apostle Paul says to disfellowship the person who is living in open sin.

Another text that shows what the Bible says about dealing with open sin is 2 John 7–11: “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.” Then a person who does not have apostolic doctrine—the doctrine that Jesus came in the flesh just like you and I have, and overcame the Devil—do not invite them into your house and do not even greet them. If you do, you are partaking of their evil works. Open sin is to be put out, but we cannot disfellowship the person who is good on the outside, but whose heart is evil, because we cannot read his heart.

Disfellowshipping the Faithful

We have come to such a sad day of gigantic apostasy in Adventism, that we see people being disfellowshipped who are keeping God’s commandments. The people who are to be disfellowshipped, according to the Bible, are those who are living in open sin—commandment breakers. There are just two sides. A commandment keeper is on God’s side. If people get together in a church business meeting, and decide to disfellowship one who is a commandment keeper, they have just told the whole universe that they are not on God’s side of the great controversy. That is very serious, friends!

Following a desperate attempt to silence the true and faithful by disfellowshipping them, the former brethren will, no doubt, turn them into the authorities—the government authorities. The wheat will be cast out as evil; and those that believe that the organization is the church will say, “Yes, we are going through the shaking time, and we have to allow these sinners to be sifted out of Zion; because they are rebellious to properly constituted authority, they won’t submit to the council of the community of faith.”

What is really happening is that those who are casting out their former brethren, are separating themselves from those who still believe the three angels’ messages and practice the truth. They are the ones who are being sifted out of Zion by their actions in disfellowshipping their faithful brethren.

When the Tares Have Full Control

When Jesus was on the earth the tares had taken control of the professed people of God, and they had gone to seed. They were living in open sin. Ellen White says the office of the high priest was sometimes acquired by murder—that is living in open sin, isn’t it? The Lord showed Ellen White over and over again that the experience of the children of Israel just before the first coming of Christ would be similar to our experience just before the second coming. (Selected Messages, vol. 1, 406–407.) People are coming to me now, saying, “Brother John, I can see that what you are saying is true, but please tell me, I am mixed up and confused. Tell me how should I relate to church organization?” I tell them to relate to it the way Jesus did. We are living in very similar times, so we relate to church organization just the way Jesus did.

How did Jesus relate to church organization when the tares had control of the church? Matthew 15 is talking about the tares. “Then His disciples came and said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?’ But He answered and said, ‘Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted [a tare] will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.’” Matthew 15:12–14. “Let them alone.” Jesus did not go and get permission for what He was going to do, neither did John the Baptist. They did not even let the leaders know what they were going to do. It was too dangerous. Jesus said, “Let them alone.” You can spend your whole life time in dialog over all kinds of problems in the Adventist Church. If that is what we do, when is the gospel going to be given to the world? Jesus and John the Baptist could have been dialoging with the priests, Levites, scribes and lawyers, and if that would have happened, we would have been eternally lost.

When the tares had control of the church Jesus said, “Let them alone.” It is time today friends, the hour is late. It is time to organize with the faithful, loyal, and true, wherever you are, and say, “Lord, show us what to do to finish Your work here in our area.”

“I was shown the necessity of those who believe that we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily imbibing new errors. I saw that neither young nor old should attend their meetings; for it is wrong to thus encourage them while they teach error that is a deadly poison of the soul and teach for doctrines the commandments of men. The influence of such gatherings is not good. If God has delivered us from such darkness and error, we should stand fast in the liberty wherewith He has set us free and rejoice in the truth. God is displeased with us when we go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to those meetings where error is forced home to the people by the power of the will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us and we are left to the buffetings of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him and the power of his evil angels; and the light around us becomes contaminated with the darkness.” Early Writings, 124–125. Oh, friend, if there are tares all around who have gone to seed, and if they are in control of the church, teaching false doctrines, Jesus says, “Let them alone.” Join with the loyal, faithful, and true, and ask the Lord to show you what to do to get the work finished.

Ripened for the Harvest

There is coming a time when everyone’s true character will be revealed—the harvest. But before the harvest, everyone will go through situations that will ripen them for the harvest, that will show which side they are on. Just before the close of probation, God sends a message of purification to the Seventh-day Adventist church for the last time, to give one last chance to be purged of all dross. This message is called the straight testimony, and it will result in a terrible shaking. Concerning the straight testimony, Ellen White says, “Some will not bear the straight testimony. They will rise up against it, and this will cause a shaking among God’s people.” Notice, it is not the straight testimony itself that causes the shaking—it’s those that rise up against it! “I saw that the testimony of the True Witness has not been half heeded. The solemn testimony upon which the destiny of the church hangs has been lightly esteemed, if not entirely disregarded. This testimony must work deep repentance; all who truly receive it will obey it and be purified.” Early Writings, 270.

Friends, the straight testimony, through the revival and reformation movement, has been going to the entire Seventh–day Adventist church for a number of years. It has gone all around the world; and has caused a division, and people have risen up against it. This division is often seen as the tares being shaken out of the church; but the question is, “Who and what is the church that they are being shaken out of?” Those that believe the inspired definition of the church see that multitudes have been shaken out of the truth; therefore they have been shaken out of the church.

“Those who separate from God and lose their spirituality, do not fall back all at once into a state which the true Witness calls lukewarm. They conform to the world little by little. As its influence steals upon them, they fail to resist it and maintain the warfare. After the first step is taken to have friendship with the world, darkness follows and they are prepared for the next. At every step they take in the downward course darkness gathers about them, until they are enshrouded. As they conform to the world they lose the transforming influence of the Spirit of God. They do not realize their distance from God. They think themselves in good case because they profess to believe the truth. They grow weaker and weaker, until the Spirit of God is withdrawn, and God bids his angels, Let them alone! Jesus spues them out of his mouth. He has borne their names to his Father; he has interceded for them, but he ceases his pleadings. Their names are dropped, and they are left with the world. They realize no change. Their profession is the same. There has not been so glaring a departure from the appearance of right. They had become so assimilated to the world that when heaven’s light was withdrawn they did not miss it.” Review and Herald, November 26, 1861. [Emphasis in the original.] Notice that even though they are spued out of Jesus’ mouth, they realize no change and their profession is the same.

Two Groups

Here is how Ellen White describes the two parties that the shaking produces. The first party—company A, is the people that are shaken, but they are not shaken out. “I saw some, with strong faith and agonizing cries, pleading with God. Their countenances were pale and marked with deep anxiety, expressive of their internal struggle. Firmness and great earnestness was expressed in their countenances; large drops of perspiration fell from their foreheads. Now and then their faces would light up with the marks of God’s approbation, and again the same solemn, anxious look would settle upon them. Evil angels crowded around, pressing darkness upon them to shut out Jesus from their view, that their eyes might be drawn to the darkness that surrounded them, and thus they be led to distrust God and murmur against Him. Their only safety was in keeping their eyes directed upward. Angels of God had charge over His people, and as the poisonous atmosphere of evil angels was pressed around these anxious ones, the heavenly angels were continually wafting their wings over them to scatter the thick darkness. As the praying ones continued their earnest cries, at times a ray of light from Jesus came to them, to encourage their hearts and light up their countenances.” That is the group that is not shaken out; but they are going through a terrible shaking struggle.

The group that is shaken out is company B: “Some, I saw, did not participate in this work of agonizing and pleading. They seemed indifferent and careless. They were not resisting the darkness around them, and it shut them in like a thick cloud. The angels of God left these and went to the aid of the earnest, praying ones. I saw angels of God hasten to the assistance of all who were struggling with all power to resist the evil angels and trying to help themselves by calling upon God with perseverance. But His angels left those who made no effort to help themselves, and I lost sight of them.” Early Writings, 270.

Notice, company A is mightily shaken, and where are they when they are mightily shaken? In the church! They are shaken as a result of company B rising up against the message that they bare. Again we see opposition to the message of truth—to the straight testimony. This straight testimony results in a shaking by those people that rise up against it.

As a result of the earnest message to the Laodiceans by God’s faithful people, plus the Sunday law pressure, the shaking sifts the church. Some members who had been true and faithful are shaken out. Most people think that this means that they leave the organization of the Seventh-day Adventist church, but this quotation does not say that. The subject matter is not the organization of the Seventh-day Adventist church, but the straight testimony of the true witness. It is a controversy not over whether you belong to a certain organization, but over the truth! That is what it is all about. Some of the true and faithful who at first accepted the testimony of the true witness are shaken out. When they are shaken out, who do they join? They join company B who are already shaken out; but they still profess to be part of the true church. Company B was the largest group, and as they receive more of those who are shaken out from the true and faithful, eventually it is going to appear like the true and faithful are just some little lunatic fringe, some fanatical offshoot sect. They will be the offscouring of all things.

Here is the way the Lord purifies the church: “God purifies His people through the voice of warning and reproof.” What if I will not listen to warning and reproof? I am stuck! By these very words of warning and reproof the chaff is separated from the wheat.

Here is the description of this purification process: “He [God] brings them up to different points calculated to manifest what is in the heart. Some endure at one point, but fall off at the next. At every advanced point the heart is tested and tried a little closer. If the professed people of God find their hearts opposed to this straight work, it should convince them that they have a work to do to overcome, if they would not be spewed out of the mouth of the Lord. Said the angel: ‘God will bring His work closer and closer to test and prove every one of His people.’ Some are willing to receive one point; but when God brings them to another testing point, they shrink from it and stand back, because they find that it strikes directly at some cherished idol. Here they have opportunity to see what is in their hearts that shuts out Jesus. They prize something higher than the truth, and their hearts are not prepared to receive Jesus.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 187.

Do you love Jesus more today than you did yesterday? Are you spending time in His Word? Are you growing up spiritually? Friend, you and I are going to come to maturity one way or the other! We can become tares or we can become wheat, but we are going to grow to maturity to be one or the other. What kind of spiritual maturity are you coming to? What group will you be numbered among. Let us pray that we can each be faithful to the end, and will be guided by the Holy Spirit so that we will not be deceived and be sifted out during the shaking.

The End